Avenger
by lovesnaruto7
Summary: "My name is Sasuke Uchiha, I hate a lot of things, and I don't particularly like anything. What I have is not a dream, because I will make it a reality. I'm going to restore my clan, and destroy a certain someone..." His goal was clear. His mind was clear. His heart was not. Fogged. By a pink-haired, mint-eyed girl, who refused to give him up to the darkness. SasuSaku Genin Fic
1. Chapter 1:Avenger

He watched the dew fall down the glass, waiting for every two of them to join. He watched the slow rise of the sun, the glitter and shine of it against rooftops.

He held the door frame with one hand, gripping it until his knuckles turned white.

His eyes narrowed at the sight of people down below on the street. Happy and laughing, even though the day had barley begun.

He felt the fabric of his headband in between his thumb and index finger. The small callouses there didn't allow feeling, but he didn't mind. He grasped his hand around the metal plate, feeling the insignia underneath his touch.

He flipped the object onto its right side. Looking at it as the sun too, hit it. He looked at it for the longest time, before a flash came before his eyes. Suddenly there was a slash in place of the clean slate. His breath hitched in his throat and his body became rigid.

Hatred coursed through his veins like fire. It brought goosebumps to his arms, making the skin tingle. His mind was a one way street, one goal in mind.

Revenge.

He brought the object into both hands. Letting the material slide over his hands. It was like it was haunting him, the symbol on the front of it. His brother-No, his enemy had once worn a headband exactly like this not that long ago.

Wearing it almost seemed like a personal sin.

None-the-less he had to wear this if he was to be considered an official ninja.

A part of him was deeply repulsed by the idea of having to wear the same headband as that monster.

He glared at the small object as he held it in his hands. The sun hit the metal, making it glint teasingly at him.

He brought it up to his forehead before tying the ends together. His bangs covered a little bit of it.

He shoved himself away from the window, he needed to leave soon. He'd already showered, he didn't need to eat breakfast. Heeding his Sensei's words, he decided not to eat.

He made his way towards the door, intent on leaving. The glare of a picture frame caught his eye and made him stop. That picture had been torn and burned, he kept it around to remember them.

The right corner of the picture was torn, only because he had torn it. That monster was not his family. So he shouldn't be in such a photo.

He continued to the door with heavier feet this time. He slipped on his sandals and slammed the door on his way out.

あさや

Three hours.

They had been sitting here for three hours. Their Sensei was supposed to be here three hours ago.

Eight o'clock sharp, he'd said. Sasuke didn't even know why he trusted that lazy man.

He'd been stuck here with Naruto-Baka for three hours. The boy would not shut up! Ramen this, ramen that. Hokage this Hokage that. He talked about Sakura a lot too.

Speaking of Sakura, she was acting weird today. He opened his closed eyes and glanced at her from the corner of his eye.

She was sitting on the bridge railing, one leg dangling off. Her outfit always looked the same, green shorts underneath her red dress, one kunai pouch. Her hair was still as long as it had been yesterday, except in place of her red ribbon was the headband.

Her face looked pensive, her nose was scrunched up too, kinda like a piglet.

It was...

No don't finish that thought. He thought in annoyance.

He turned away, looking the opposite direction. "Tch, annoying..." he glared at nothing in particular.

"Sasuke-Teme!!" Naruto called out to him, his face right in front of his.

Oh god not again..he thought, inwardly cringing.

He sighed irritated, before opening his mouth to answer the dunce.

"What do you want loser?" He asked emotionless. Monotone if you will.

"Hey! I'm not a loser! Right Sakura-Chan?" That honorific.

_Sakura-Chan..._

He didn't like Naruto saying her name like that. Sure he's heard him call Sakura that plenty of times, but the way he said it now-it was as if he was trying to prove something.

When Sakura didn't answer or even turn around Sasuke smirked at Naruto, that little upward tilt of his lips signified that he had won, because Sakura didn't disagree with him.

"See loser. She agrees with me." Sasuke said smugly. You may think it childish but beating Naruto at anything and everything was something that Sasuke was going to do.

Naruto went into a fit about how he wasn't a loser, but Sasuke just sat there, listening to empty threats.

Then a tiny voice interrupted them, it was so tiny that one could barely even hear it.

"I never said that I agreed with you Sasuke-Kun..." Sakura still sat facing the river, her legs no longer swinging, her body still and head turned hell-wards.

Sasuke felt the initial shock wear off after about two minutes of just staring at her back-Naruto was still in it but he just shrugged it off as nothing.

If it came down to it she would choose him over Naruto anyway so it didn't matter.

_Wait? What?!_

He knew that what had gone through his head was true, but saying it like that only made him question what the fuck was wrong with him.

He glared at her back for a moment, the realization that she had made him look like an idiot in front of Naruto sinking in. Naruto too seemed to realize it and turned to him.

"Ha! See Sasuke-Teme! Sakura-Chan agrees with me!" He struck a pose and smirked smugly down at Sasuke.

_That honorific..._

Sasuke swept his leg our intent on making Naruto eat shit. And sure enough, there lay Naruto face first in the ground.

"Hn." He smirked and his eyes unconsciously drifted to Sakura, only to find that she was looking at Naruto.

The noise must've made her turn around because her body sat twisted to look at the scene.

When her eyes found his, they locked, and Sasuke realized that this was the first time that he'd ever really looked into Sakura's eyes.

Their emerald hue enthralled him and sent shivers down his spine. It made him idly wonder if there was anything brighter than those eyes.

They put lush forests to shame. The wind blew her hair, and it softly swayed with the breeze.

Sasuke's eyes however never strayed from her own.

And then the moment was over when Kakashi appeared and stood right in between them. The man had the audacity to look over at him and wink. Sasuke only scowled at him.

"Sorry, a black cat crossed my path! Let's get to training!"

It was thought the day that Sasuke unconsciously found his eyes wandering to Sakura's face, hoping to see her eyes.


	2. Chapter 2: Mikoto

Their mission was lame as hell in Sasuke's personal opinion. A family had requested their help as genin to move all of their luggage and boxes to their new house.

Which was located on the other side of the village.

It also didn't help Sasuke's mood that the owners of the previous house had five children, four of which were their age. One, a little girl was about six.

Maybe it was just his imagination but the little girl looked like a dark haired version of Sakura. Black hair that flowed in waves really, and eyes green, just like Sakura's, but not-they just didn't have that luster look to them-

_We did not just think that._

He was most annoyed because the two girls saw him and immediately began to smother him. And Sasuke, like the good little ninja that he is let them, if only not killing them with his eyes.

Naruto had made a tone of shadow clones to get the work done for them, which at first Sasuke was not adverse to, but as ten minutes, and then twenty rolled by, he came to regret his words.

These two girls would just not shut up! They were so annoying! Like seriously who in this entire universe could possibly talk about their nails, for twenty god damned minutes!?

It hadn't helped that one of the two boys-presumably the older one, would not lay off of Sakura!

And Naruto! That idiot, was playing games with the other brother and letting it happen!

His eye only caught the youngest when she peeked around a corner at him. The small movement drew his attention and his eyes automatically locked with hers-the scowl disappearing and in its place an emotionless facade.

She was shaking when he looked at her, but soon her sandal-clad feet padded up to him-and the two wild nail banshees that cling to both of his arms.

"A-ano..Nee-Chan's? Mama said that s-she needed your h-help..." the little girl stood there staring at her open toes. She fiddled with the hem of the dress that she wore- a magenta colored one too.

"Ugh! Can't you do it brat?!" The girl on his left screeched.

"Yeah! You do it!" The one on his right echoed the thoughts of her twin.

The little girl visibly flinched at their harsh words and Sasuke found himself ripping his arms away from them and instead crossing them over his chest. "S-she said that you two have to do it..." her meek words were met with backhanded insults and groans as the older girls walked away.

His eyes trailed down to the little girl, now noticing the white stuffed bunny she held in one hand. It looked worn, with its button eyes and sewn on smile.

He was at a bit of a loss, should he say thank you? Should he not? He felt grateful to the little girl for helping him, so he supposed a thank you was in need.

He bent down to her level, only to have her stuff her face into her bunny, hiding away from him. She was so small in size compared to him.

He awkwardly put a hand in her shoulder, speaking low so that his teammates wouldn't hear. "Thank you." Her eyes didn't lift and all he heard was muffled sniffles. He cringed at the sound, not knowing what to do.

"What is your name?" He asked, the only question to try and break the ice, he was so dumbfounded on this situation.

He heard more sniffles before a small mumbling made its way through the crowded sound. "Mikoto..." he froze at the name his entire body becoming rigid.

_"Kaa-San! Look what I found!" He bounded up to his mother, holding the bug carefully on his index finger._

_"Oh, Sasuke-Chan! You found a ladybug!" Mikoto Uchiha smiles fondly at her youngest._

_"Can I keep it!?" He asked excitedly._

_"No Sasuke-Chan, you have to let the things that you love go sometimes. This is one of those cases." She said lightly, turning his palm over as the bug flew away._

_"Kaa-San? You won't leave me will you?" Little Sasuke looked up at his mother his eyes screaming the word 'No!'._

_"No Sasuke, I will never leave you baby..." wrapping him in a hug she kissed his cheek before he ran into the house._

Shocked back into reality Sasuke began to breathe again as the little girl looked at him worried. She grasped a blanket in her left hand and began to pat his forehead with it.

"You're a little sweaty S-Shinobi-San.." she dropped the blanket on the ground and proceeded to feel his forehead with the back of her hand.

"You f-feel cold. So y-you can't be sick..." she took back her hand as Sasuke snapped out of it finally.

"What's your name Shinobi-San?" Her meek voice grew a little weaker as she went, seeming disappointed at his lack of answer.

"Sasuke. Uchiha Sasuke." His voice held pride, his clan name would be honored, and the tarnishing it had once taken would be forgotten-that was a promise.

"Um..Mikoto...why did you lie?" Her shocked face snapped up to him. He lightly smiled at her panicked face. Her mother had left for the other house the second they arrived here, those two dumb girls were too busy to notice.

"I'm kidding." He said monotonously.

He stood back to his full height and began to search for his other teammates. That was until he felt a small tug on his shorts. His eyes found the tiny hand that once clutched the bunny.

"U-um can I uh..sit on your...uh shoulders..." her voice seemed to die as she scrambled away in embarrassment. The question had at first appalled him, no one had ever asked him this question.

He lightly grabbed at her arm and then swung her up onto his shoulders. Her excited laugh made him stop and smile as she gripped the sides of his head.

He almost swore that he heard the shutter of a camera, but quickly disregarded the idea, because no one else was around.

He began to walk, searching for his teammates. He made the walk up the stairs only to find Naruto in the hallway, with the younger brother chatting away. On his way passed he caught wind of the word boobs, and made a U-turn right back down the stairs to the other hallway.

Uchiha's don't talk about such lewd topics.

And Mikoto didn't need to hear that anyway. He made his way down the smaller hallway and as he made his way towards a door he heard the faint sounds of a conversation, he caught a little of it.

"Oh, Sakura-Chan? Would you pick that up for me please?" He only heard that before making it to the door.

What he saw made his blood unconsciously bubble.

Sakura had bent over to grab whatever object had been on the floor, and that boy came up behind her and slapped her ass.

If Sasuke wasn't pissed before, he sure as hell was now.

He moved to fast to see at that moment and threw a leg out to smash into the older brother's stomach, sending him flying into the opposite wall, while keeping Mikoto on his shoulders.

Sakura has stood up just after he kicked the boy away, and he shoved her protectively behind him.

"Do not touch her again..." The threat wouldn't seem like much to some, but to any trained eyes and ears, you would hear the underlying tone that came with a promise of pain, and eyes that promised a hell worthy fate.

The boy was shaking on the opposite wall and Mikoto giggled lightly at him.

"What do you think is so funny brat!?" The boy screamed at her, standing up-wincing as he did so.

Mikoto stopped laughing the second the words were said. She grasped at Sasuke's hair a little tighter than before, not in anger but in fear.

The older boy came closer and Sasuke grabbed his hand as he lifted it in a strike.

"How stupid are you?" He asked, watching the boys reaction carefully, it was then that he noticed Sakura behind the boy, a Senbon at his neck.

He smirked at her and she smiled back.

"We are Shinobi, and we could have you arrested under the legal witnessing of in-home-violence and verbal abuse, that of which I have seen twice today." Sakura sent him a shocked look, but he promptly ignored it.

The boy looked offended and Sakura slowly retracted the small weapon. He left in a huff and Sakura began to laugh at him.

He set Mikoto down and she immediately turned around to hug him.

"Thank you Sasuke-Chan! Thank you!" She began to talk to her bunny enthusiastically, and Sasuke smiled, forgetting that Sakura was in the room.

"You would make a wonderful father Sasuke-Kun..." Sakura said quietly and she smiled longingly at him, before turning her attention to the little girl.

He flushed slightly at the comment and turned his head away.

"Tch...annoying..." he muttered, hiding his smile.

Little did he know that Sakura heard the words and she was smiling softly at the lack of edge in them.


	3. Chapter 3: It Meant Nothing

Being called into the Hokage's office at six in the morning could be seen in two very different ways.

One of those ways could be that you were given a very important mission, this one is the good one.

The second one could be that you messed up severely, and were going to be punished for it.

Sasuke thought that it was the latter of the two options, because of one little tiny annoying blonde insect named Naruto.

How could it not be the dead last's fault? He was the one that had done all of the moving! Well, it was his shadow clones anyway. So now they were gonna be stuck doing babysitting and painting fences!

He burned holes into the back of Naruto's head all the way there for good measure, while Sakura walked by his side, and the loser was holding up traffic in front of them.

"Move faster loser, we don't have all day." He grumbled out, He wasn't exactly pleased at the hour he was up either. Typical he'd be up and hour after this time.

"Shut it Sasuke-Teme, I didn't sleep a lot last night!" Naruto shot back instantly.

"What, to busy wondering what ring you should buy for your ramen?" He just said it, not really thinking, his face expressionless.

"Ha! Says you! At least I could get a girl to marry me! With that pole you have stuck up your ass, you'll be lucky if a girl marries you!" He stopped at Naruto's offending sentence.

Was he joking? He could court a woman three times his age and she'd go for it!

He was about to come back with something when a stifled laugh from his right made his head whip around.

Sakura has her hands thrown over her mouth and her face burned crimson at Sasuke's incredulous gaze. She must've felt bad because immediately an apology began to come out of her mouth.

"Sasuke I'm-" her half-assed apology wouldn't make his mood any better.

_No honorific..._

Sasuke increased his pace and jumped onto the roof.

From Naruto, he expected that type of bullshit.

But never from Sakura...

His gaze turned behind him to see sorrowful mint eyes.

_Never..._

When he arrived at the Hokage Tower he jumped down and walked past the two sleeping guards.

_Lazy asses_...he thought in disgust.

He swore to god, if he ever became that kind of ninja, it would be right before he went home and slit his throat with a kunai.

The conversation from before continued to replay in his mind, but by the time he made it to the Hokage's door, it was in the back of his head.

The faint call of "Come in" brought him into reality. It was only then that he heard the other footsteps behind him.

They must've caught up somewhere, so he let the outrageousness escape him, because there was no way that those two were as fast as him.

When they stood in front of the Hokage and what appeared to be Iruka-Sensei, and Kakashi in the window, they were very confused.

Had they really done that terribly? No impossible.

At the same moment, he and Sakura said: "Naruto did it." The blonde glanced at them and gawked without shame, his face going pale.

Lord Third only laughed lightly and shook his head. "Now you two, one the most important things about being apart of a team, is taking equal responsibility for your actions."

They bowed their heads in agreement.

"But that is not why I called you here..." his eyes became serious as he put his pipe back into his mouth.

They all automatically straightened up when their Hokage's stone gaze set on them. Sasuke inwardly smirked, if Lord Third was being like this, then it was most likely that they were being given a mission.

Hopefully, he swore to the gods, it wasn't babysitting.

"You three were assigned a simple moving mission yesterday, correct?" Lord Third's patients would be the death of him.

They all nodded in sync, sweat was forming on Naruto's brow he could hear his knees clacking together from here.

_See loser, I told you..._

"In the household, there is five children, two sets of twins and a young girl." Lord Third said slowly.

"Mikoto." He blurted out, coming to regret his actions immediately, as his teammate's eyes came to him, but his face remained emotionless.

Uchiha's don't regret shit.

Lord Third looked at him for a long moment before giving a nod. "Yes, Mikoto." He ignored the pitiful glance that Iruka-Sensei sent him.

"Now, I have to ask you three, did anything seem...odd? About that household?" The incident from yesterday came to mind immediately and he and Sakura spoke at the same moment.

"Yes."

"Yes!"

The look that they received was not one that Sasuke expected. Pain and fears that have come true, he knew those looks fairly well. He himself saw them in the mirror far too often.

"Hmm, indeed, tell me what you saw then..." and so went the story, starting from what happened with the two twin girls, and how they treated Mikoto.

It then went to when Sakura got slapped by the older boy, and throughout the whole time, Sasuke knew that he was scowling, if not growling a little.

And then they told of when the older boy tried to hit Mikoto, and how they subdued the action. Naruto stood by with horrified eyes, and a light shaking.

"I see." Lord Third removed his pipe from his mouth, and set it down next to a neat stack of papers, all which had fresh ink on them.

"Then it was as we feared." He shook his head. Kakashi Hidan his eyes behind his book. Iruku looked out the window.

"That child, Mikoto, has been being beat by her family, for more than a while now." He took a deep breath. "When we first got a complaint about screams coming from the house late at night, we were suspicious." He took a long drag from his pipe.

"But when the second one came, we knew that something was wrong. Your observations only stand to add more proof." He said.

"But Lord Hokage?" Sakura Who was on his left spoke up. "Do you mean, like, by her siblings? Or by her parents?" Her eyes filled with tears as she said the words. Sasuke felt his throat hitch a little at the sight.

He sighed and shook his head again. "We have reason to believe that the children learned such behavior from the parents." He said, an edge still in his voice.

"Hey! Hey! Wait! Sojj! Didn't do anything to her! At least not while I was there..." Naruto spoke up, but then lowered his head, ashamed that this situation was even happening.

That was true, the other brother was the one that Naruto has been hanging out with. He looked dopey and happy, completely incapable of doing something like that.

"Yes, in fact, we asked.." Sasuke glared at him. "...Mikoto...which sibling, she liked best, and her answer was Soji." He sighed.

"Now, since neither of them has any relatives inside the village, and I can't risk them being sent to Grass, they will have to go to the orphanage." He closed his eyes and rubbed the bridge of his nose.

"No!" They all three screamed.

Sasuke looked at his two teammates and frowned. Why would they-well more Sakura than Naruto, say that? Naruto he understood, he lived in an orphanage, just as he himself had, so he got why Naruto didn't want to let them go there. But Sakura?

In fact it appeared that all eyes were on her. All three adults and both Sasuke and Naruto stared at her intently.

"Sakura? Are you okay?" Iruka came to walk to Sakura's side, but the Hokage and Kakashi both stopped him.

Sakura turned her head away from them, she uttered words that sounded like shouts in the small office.

"Terrible things happen in that place, take it from someone who knows..." her voice had been weak lately he'd begun to realize. And right now was no exception.

"Sakura-Chan?" Naruto said softly, and when she didn't respond, Sasuke took it upon himself to call to her.

"Sakura?" His voice had unintentionally been a little tiny bit gentle. Nothing more.

Her eyes turned to them, and they were tear-filled and bloodshot like hell. They threatened to spill from her, and Sasuke winced at the sight. While he remained calm on the outside, on the inside he was internally freaking out.

What had happened to her in that place?

His body might've moved on its own. Or maybe it was the fact that these two meant something, he wasn't sure what, but it was something big.

He was hugging her-albeit very awkwardly, and her head was nuzzled underneath his chin, her hair tickled his nose and he did his best not to sneeze.

She sobbed and Sasuke stiffened, hearing crying girls in general made him tense up with that all too familiar feeling of not knowing what to do.

It was literally punching him in the fucking face at this point.

Send him into battle, to spar, instinct kicks in!

Send him to beat up Naruto-no problem there!

But send him to a sobbing female and instinct decides to dig a hole and fucking bury itself!

He stroked her back and in return was met with quieter sobs. The smooth fabric of her dress made it easy to glide his hands over. And the slender curve of her waist made it easy to hold her to him.

When she did pull away from his chest-it was her to pull away-not him, her eyes were red, along with the soft skin underneath them. Her nose was a little runny. Sasuke could still feel the wet spot on his left shoulder where her tears seeped through the fabric.

"Thank you Sasuke-Kun..." her strong voice struck him for a moment, and when he looked into her eyes for the first time today, they were broad and strong, and her smile was contagious.

If the lift on the right side of his lips had anything to say about it.

When they pulled away the Hokage was smiling coyly at them, and Sasuke felt his left eyebrow twitch at the suggestive look that he sent them.

"Tch." He crossed his arms over his chest and looked away. The three adults snickered at him. Naruto joined in as well.

"Ha! Teme's pouting!" Naruto pointed at him jovially.

"I'm not 'pouting'," he hit Naruto over the head, "loser..." everyone else smiled fondly at the scene.

When they were excused from the office, they all went their separate ways-Naruto leaving them first.

When it came for him and Sakura to take different paths, he stopped her.

"Sakura..about before," she looked at him worriedly for a moment and he dragged his eyes away from those mint ones that sucked him in.

Fuck you, stupid pigments that make color possible!

"It didn't mean anything!" He blurted and his face turned crimson, recalling the moment. "It was normal!" He screamed again.

_She's got me screaming damn..._

...

...

...

_Oh god that sounds so gross..._

She nodded and hid her smile from him. She turned to walk away, going towards the civilian district that he typically steered clear of.

"Of course Sasuke-Kun.." she turned around and put her hands up. "It meant," she made air quotes,

" "Nothing". " she winked at him then, sticking her tongue out as she ran away.

Damn you! You stupid mint-eyed little demon from my fantasies!

...

...

...

_I need fucking help..._


	4. Chapter 4: Naruto's Secret Lover

Today was a weird way to start things out. It had started normal, but as the day carried on Naruto continued to act weirder and weirder.

Even as they neared the end of their training, which Naruto was insistent that on some days they continue to train even past the hours that Kakashi had regulated for them. He wanted nothing more than to leave.

"Yeah training was great today! See you guys later!" He went to run away but Sasuke and Sakura grabbed him by the back of his orange jacket.

"Naruto why do you want to leave so badly?" Sakura asked him curiously, perhaps it had been on her mind as well, Sasuke mused internally.

"Hurry?! I'm not in a-pshhh hurry?! No ones in a hurry!" He began to blubber and they both gave him a disbelieving look.

"Sorry guys but I have to get to uh...Ichikaru..yeah! The old man is giving away free ramen!" He managed to wiggle his way out of their grip before he took off down the road to Konoha, leaving a dust trail in his wake.

Sasuke gave a disbelieving look to Sakura and he wasn't shocked to find her face mimicking his own.

It wasn't long before they found Naruto, but it was not at Ichikaru.

It was sneaking into the Hyūga District...

What business could Naruto possibly have here of all places? And the fact that he was sneaking in to the Hyūga's very strict area didn't make it better.

He seemed to watch the guards very carefully for a couple minutes, waiting for something. It was only when the guards were called for their switch did Naruto move.

Sasuke and Sakura quickly made their way after him, not wasting a moment to slip between the two houses that were placed dangerously close together.

They were lucky that the sky was beginning to get dark! Or else Naruto would have them all sent to prison for sneaking onto private grounds!

Then, Naruto did the most absurd thing. He crawled into what appeared to be..an abandoned pump house?

Sasuke immediately jumped after him and Sakura took a moment to think about all the spiders and what not that awaited her.

Naruto must've had to crawl, because there was no way that he walked through this freakin thing!

"Holy frick frack paddy whack! How the hell does he do this?! And what the hell could possibly be worth this tiny space?" Sakura said agitated.

Sasuke quietly snickered at her choice of words, but seriously who says 'Holy frick frack paddy whack'?

When they made it to the other side, Sasuke couldn't see Naruto, but he crawled out and gave Sakura his hand. She grabbed it gently and the fact that her hand was so freaking small was revealed to Sasuke.

Her finger tips barely reached the first joint on his fingers. Not noticing his involuntary action he intertwined their fingers when he pulled her to her feet. And he dragged her to where Naruto must've been.

This was basically a one track road.

When they turned a corner they found Naruto throwing small pebbles at a window, from his perch on a tree next to it.

Next to Sasuke, was Sakura who let out a gasp. Sasuke being the ninja he is turned to her expecting to get into trouble with a Hyūga. But he only found her there with a happy smile and shining eyes.

The fact that their hands were still intertwined evaded him.

"Don't you see Sasuke-Kun?" She looked at him, but he only raised an eyebrow. She gave him a look and shook her head.

"Naruto came to visit his Hyūga girlfriend, and he has to sneak in to see her! Oh how romantic!" She swooned a little and pulled his head into her chest to silence his groans.

The fact that his face was red had nothing to do with the fact that it was being smothered in her growing bosom, it was the fact that it was cold outside.

Despite their awkward position, their hands were still linked.

When the window opened, it revealed none other than Hinata Hyūga, the heiress to the Hyūga clan. Naruto gave her a foxy grin and they could only catch a few words at the beginning but it was enough.

"Hinata-Chan!"

"S-shh N-n-naruto-k-kun!"

"Oh! Right! Sorry..."

"I-it's o-okay...w-why are y-you here s-suddenly?"

"Heh, well I just remembered that today was special, so I brought you-"

Naruto handed her a very sloppily wrapped gift and proceeded to rub the back of his head.

Hinata looked absolutely stunned and before they could even process what was happening, Hinata threw herself out of the window and hugged Naruto. The action left both Sasuke and Sakura shell shocked, their mouths hanging open.

The impact sent them hurdling toward the ground and left Hinata on top of Naruto. The gift was unharmed but the two people not so much.

Hinata had a pretty nasty bruise forming on her leg, specifically just below her knee, where her pants had torn.

Naruto had been used as a human trampoline and was currently having quite the problem with his back.

When Hinata freaked out and jumped off of him, Naruto was able to clearly see the forming bruise on her leg.

"Ah! Hinata-Chan! Oh my gosh! Ahhh! I hurt you! Oh no! Ice! No! Ramen! No! Arggg!" Naruto pulled on his hair to show his frustration. But suddenly a light bulb went off above Naruto's head.

He picked up the gift and gently handed it to Hinata, who stared at it perplexed, not paying attention to Naruto.

Naruto had bent down and put his arm under Hinata's knees, the other behind her back, before he lifted up, and held her bridal style.

"I saw this in one of Kakashi-Sensei's books, it's umm...oh! 'Gentlemanly' Ha! I remembered it!" Naruto smileed foxily down at the poor tomato-faced girl before he jumped toward the window.

"You're a lot lighter than Sakura, Hinata-Chan! Heh believe it!" He landed inside her room, but the sentence could be heard loud and clear.

He could literally _feel_ Sakura's anger.

Because he was pretty sure at least half the bones in his hand were broken.

"Sakura, we should leave before Naruto decides to do something stupid." He said emotionlessly, standing up straight, away from Sakura's warm chest.

She was dragged up with him, and the hopped the giant wall that surrounded the district, only pausing to make sure no guards were nearby.

It was when they were in the forest heading for the west gate that they finally realized that their hands were still intertwined.

Letting go they both flushed, and to try and bring himself back to normal Sasuke said the most rude thing he could think of.

"He's right you know," when she looked over he continued speaking, "you weigh a ton." He could literally hear her jaw hit the ground and he smirked as he kept walking.

He maybe expected tears, maybe her to walk off in the opposite direction. But not to be tackled to the ground.

It only went to show that this was not the Sakura from the academy.

Miraculously his foot had twisted around a branch and he ended up landing on his back with Sakura sitting on his stomach.

"I do NOT!!" She screamed indignantly.

He smirked again.

Two could play at this game.

"Case in point..." he faked air loss and she openly gaped at his performance.

"Uchiha Sasuke I swear to Kami-Sama himself! I weigh less than a ton!" She grabbed his shirt and tugged on it harshly.

"Can't fool me.." he said his voice still pretending like he was dying. "I'm dying here..." she screamed and got right up in his face.

"That's not funny!" She said looking him dead in the eyes.

"Heh, I sure think it is..." his words were lame, but he smirked anyway. He stared into her eyes, the waning crescent moon illuminating her from behind. It gave the edge of her hair a goddess look, silvery almost.

The sudden realization of how close they were exactly dawned on him. He flushed minimally and tried to keep his drumming heartbeat soundless so that she couldn't hear it.

Was it just him or was her face getting closer? Was it just him or were his hands running from her hips to her ribs? Was it just him, or did she just close her eyes?!

Sasuke had never kissed anyone before. He'd never had an interest to do so. His goal had always been to avenge his clan, and then to restore it. But even thinking about girls typically made him sick, simply because being raped was never on his bucket list.

Naruto did not count when it came to kissing.

Sasuke felt his eyes begin to shut when he heard the labored breaths from about ten feet away.

He pulled Sakura to his chest and stood up, throwing them behind a tree, holding her close.

Sasuke looked back at her and would be lying if he said the image wouldn't come to him later that night.

Sakura's cheeks were flushed and her mouth was open. And most might not want to hear this, but a small amount of saliva stuck from her top lip to her bottom, and the image alone made his breath catch.

And somehow it was so easy to see her dainty body beneath his own, shuddering and moaning. Begging for more as his ministrations did unspeakable things to her.

The thought made Sasuke stand still.

_Fuck you hormones..._

When they had left the forest, it was a very awkward silence that ensued. Sasuke would've quite liked the quiet but the situation and the images kept repeating in his head.

When they made it to the gate, and it was time to separate ways Sasuke turned to Sakura, the guilt eating away at him.

"Sakura?" He asked, he heard the crack in his voice and cursed god and everything else above.

"Yes Sasuke-Kun?" She didn't turn to face him. She just stopped walking, her long pink hair swaying gently as the wind swept by.

"I-" the word wouldn't come out.

_Don't say it, convey it through your actions...words won't work anymore..._

His actions huh? Well fuck it then.

He stepped forward behind her and grabbed some of her hair. The feeling of the silky substance glided over his mildly calloused fingertips. He never imagined holding such a unique thing like this would feel so wonderful.

He would never admit it. But he liked Sakura's hair long. But only her's, she was the one who wore it right.

She was the one that he wanted to see with this kind of hair.

_Only her._

He lightly grabbed her around her waist and gave a light tug, pulling her to him instantly.

"Forgive me..." he said quietly and he shushined away, leaving her there.

When he returned home, his face was beat red and all he did was flop down into his bed, exhausted.

He turned on his side to find the picture of team seven.

His eyes trailed to the others before they landed on himself and Sakura.

_Alone_, he only saw himself in the picture, _I hate myself._

_Together_, he let his eyes open so that it was only them in the picture, he and Sakura, _you make me hate myself less._

He pulled the covers over his body.

_And I don't know whether to hate or love you for it..._


	5. Chapter 5: Her Hands

The next day Sasuke had woken up with a killer headache. He could barely move in fact. He felt cold, but inside his body felt like it was on fire.

He shuddered as he pulled the blankets closer to his shaking form.

Shit, had he caught a cold?! No! He wasn't supposed to be sick! He was supposed to be getting stronger! Yet here he was, laying in his bed with the sniffles!

Shit, he didn't have medicine either. He never got sick, so he never had a reason to have any.

If he was going to get over this he'd need it right?

...

_No, I'm stronger than that, I don't need it!_

His choice of action, while not the smartest, was showing that his will was strong, right?

He looked at the alarm clock that sat on the stand next to his bed. The time read 7:15, training started at 7:30 today. His eyes trailed back over to the picture next to it.

They were glued straight on the smaller figure in the middle.

His head began to pound harder as he tried to recall the events last night. He sat up straight and groaned, regretting it immediately.

He'd almost kissed Sakura last night! What was he thinking!? He remembered his hands moving along her subtly growing hips, the fabric of her dress sliding against her skin underneath.

_God damnit I am so screwed..._

He threw the thoughts away and sat up slowly, his entire body screaming in disagreement. Oh god why did everything hurt?!

He lightly dragged his legs off the edge of his bed and felt the cool hardwood of his floor underneath his feet. When he stood up he felt like every fluid in him was being dragged down. The feeling made him gag and it took everything in him not to throw up.

But he couldn't keep the feeling away forever. And as soon as he took one step he was running to his bathroom.

When literally everything that was in his stomach was gone, he sat up and leaned his head on his arms. What did he catch? Uggg.

With the help of the side of his sink he pulled himself up found that he looked like absolute shit.

His face was pale and his forehead was sweating even though he felt like he was freezing. His eyes were bloodshot, and his hair was in a disarray.

He was disgusted to find a small amount of his stomach contents on his shirt.

He needed to get to training, he knew that Kakashi was going to be late anyway, so he didn't necessarily have to be there on time, it would just ruin his reputation if he wasn't there before the dead last.

He went to his dresser and sloppily pulled out his typical shirt and shorts, remembering last second to grab boxers. His head was so not screwed on right.

He dragged himself to his bed and proceeded to change. After figuring out that he put his shirt on backwards, and then fixing it. He sloppily wrapped his calfs, and the dragged himself to the door, headband in hand. He slipped on his shoes and locked the door on his way out.

He felt like the walking dead by the time he made it to the training ground that was designated for team 7. To his relief he'd made it there before Naruto-Baka.

And to his humiliation, only Sakura was here. Actually she was training. Beating the shit out of a practice dummy. She must've not noticed him, because she didn't stop.

He must've been seeing things because he swore that he just saw Sakura punch that thing, and then it shattered.

His mouth agreed with his eyes. "What the fuck?" He slurred, barely managing to stay on his feet.

Sakura looked over at him in horror and she stopped. He could've sworn that her hand was bleeding, but at this point he didn't trust his eyes.

"S-Sasuke-Kun! W-what are you doing here!?" She asked him incredulously.

He swayed lightly before replying. "Training?" To even him it sounded like a question. She jogged over to him before gasping.

"Sasuke-Kun! You're sick! Why are you here? Go home!" Was she ordering him? No no no, that is not how this works.

"No, you go home..." He slurred at her his eyes half lidded and his form slouching over.

Her eyes bulged from her sockets.

"I'm taking you home Sasuke-Kun!" She told him, and he almost laughed. She'd have to carry his ass to get him home because there was no way he was leaving-

And he was on her back now.

And they were going back towards his house. It never occurred to him that neither Sakura or Naruto had ever been to his house.

He did however appreciate that she was taking the alleyways back to his house. He would die if anyone saw him like this.

"Take me back." He said to her, his face smashed into her shoulder because he didn't have the energy to move it.

"No Sasuke-Kun, you are sick, you have to rest." Why did she keep telling him 'no'? This was ridiculous.

"Sakura take me back, I have to beat Naruto's stupid ass..." he said and then lightly chuckled at his choice of words.

"Sasuke-Kun, Naruto told Sensei that he wasn't feeling well, he's sick too. He wouldn't have come to training today anyway." She told him, and her voice, this was just a side thought, was really soothing right now.

"Ha. I win loser, I made it to the training ground before him." Apparently this was his form of gloating, even though it just seemed more like a statement than anything else.

She sighed and it was then that he noticed they were at his door. "What am I going to do with you two?" The question was rhetorical but he felt the need to answer.

"Love me until we die?" His words were so fucked up. 'Love me until we die'? Seriously?

She didn't say anything back but she did put him on his feet. He could've sworn that her neck became ten degrees hotter than before.

"I need your key Sasuke-Kun..." she said shyly. Why was she being shy now?

He dug around in his pocket until he felt the familiar silver key in his palm.

"Here..." when his hand brushed hers he didn't move it. Reveling in the softness of it. Even though she had just been beating the shit out of a practice dummy.

She blushed when he didn't move his hand and took the key. When they stepped inside Sasuke immediately went to his bed and slowly laid down. He didn't think that anything felt better than his bed right now.

He yawned and turned over on his side. He could sleep like this but he guaranteed that his neck was going to be a bitch about it tomorrow.

"Here Sasuke-Kun, let me help you." Those words kinda wounded his pride a bit. He was Sasuke Uchiha, he didn't need help situating himself.

"I don't need your help." Even in his hazy state he could see her hurt expression, and guilt hit him like his throw up this morning.

He pulled himself up and went into the kitchen, he wanted water, and so did his parched throat. As he stepped in the smell of the just absolute clean made him want to throw up. (Like the dentist office-the smell)

He steadied himself on the counter and quickly opened a cabinet, grabbing a cup he put it under the faucet before running the tab on cold.

He held his breath so that he wouldn't have to smell his too clean kitchen. When the amount of water in the cup was to his satisfaction he pulled it away and shut off the tab with his other hand. Still leaning against the counter he began to lift the cup up to his lips.

When he was about to take a drink, a terrible sensation crawled up his throat and he began to cough harshly. He dropped the cup and watched as it fell to the floor and shattered.

He fell to his knees uncaring of the glass that might cut him. He held his hands over his mouth in hopes that the action would somehow stop the terrible feeling.

"Sasuke-Kun!" Sakura ran over to him and fell down beside him. She grabbed him underneath his arms and heaved him up, his leg muscles barely doing anything to help. He idly wondered how she'd become this strong.

When she had him on his feet he stumbled and ended up grasping her around the waist to keep himself up.

He looked up at her, pleading with his eyes, he could feel his face flush further as the events from last night were once again shaped in his mind. He didn't push them away this time; he watched them replay in his mind.

His mouth getting closer to hers last night made him weak in the knees.

He grabbed her wrist in his hand and pulled her closer, one arm still around her waist, he moved his mouth closer to her own.

Before a huge wave of exhaustion hit him and he fell back down to his knees, his head lightly resting against her stomach.

_God damnit..._

When he came to next he was feeling a hell of a lot better, a wet rag was resting on his head, and as he sat up it slipped off, his head hurt considerably less than before.

He looked to his right to find nothing but a chair pulled up next to his bed. He wondered why, before he heard the distinct click of his door opening and closing.

Sakura came around the corner, a jacket that was definitely NOT hers over her shoulders and about two times bigger than her, on her figure. She had a grocery bag in hand.

"Oh Sasuke-Kun! You're awake! I went to go get you some medicine, and, oh hold on a second." She turned back to the door and slipped off her shoes.

As she did so he could see the very distinctive red and white fan emblem on the back of the jacket that she wore, underneath pink tresses.

His breath hitched as he saw his clan's symbol on her back. She was wearing his emblem. The Uchiha insignia.

Uchiha Sakura...

He didn't feel mad, or angered in the slightest. He just felt a little more out of it if anything.

When she turned back around, she smiled at him bashfully and he noticed her cheeks were slightly flushed. Her eyes closed as she continued to smile at him.

"I'm sorry for taking your jacket without asking Sasuke-Kun, but it started to rain, and you needed medicine..." she walked back over to him, jacket still on and bag in hand.

She gently sat down in the seat next to his bed before she set the bag down in her lap.

She pulled out a small case that contained pills, and read the back quickly before popping two out.

She handed them to him, but when he made no move to grab them, sighing she grabbed his hand instead. Flipping it over she placed the pills in his palm, before gently making his palm close.

She put a cup of water in his other hand and he drank the water and swallowed the pills.

She stayed by his side until it became dark. They talked about little things, but that didn't mean that he didn't enjoy the conversation.

"I think I should go Sasuke-Kun, it's getting late..." when she stood up, she began to take off the jacket. Sasuke almost said something to her before she set it down on the chair.

"Goodnight Sasuke-Kun, I hope you feel better by tomorrow's mission!"

He got up quicker than he really thought that he could then. Grabbing the jacket as he went.

She was already at the door by the time he got to her.

"Sakura!" He stopped her by grabbing her shoulder lightly. She turned around, eyes wide and cheeks set aflame.

"You aren't going home this late." He said simply and it wasn't a request, it was an order. He wouldn't allow her to leave his home at this late of an hour, for various reasons.

She looked at him incredulously and he pulled her by the arm back inside. Shutting the almost open door with his other hand.

"And uh..you can..keep the jacket too..." he shoved it into her arms and she lightly grasped it.

He proceeded to walk back towards his bed. He only noticed then that he had no shirt on.

When she didn't move away from the door he turned and gave her a questioning look.

"Well? Are you gonna come to bed or not?" Oh my god he did not just say that to her.

"B-b-But S-S-Sasuke-K-Kun I d-don't have any c-clothes!" She stuttered, and he felt extremely proud that the flush that adorned her cheeks was because of him.

He watched her hands as they set the jacket down on his dresser, before fiddling with each other. Her hands fascinated him. They were so tiny compared to his own, they looked soft on the insides, but he didn't miss the new wounds appearing on her knuckles.

He walked over to his dresser and pulled out one of his smaller shirts and a pair of his boxers. The first things that he grabbed too. He smirked and felt the back of his neck heat up.

_We are so bad..._

"Here, you can wear mine." He threw them at her, and they hit her right in the middle of her face. She gave a little yelp and proceeded to take them off her face.

When she saw what they were she turned a thousand shades of crimson.

"The bathroom is down the hall to the left." He said, trying to keep his voice from cracking.

She nodded quicker than he could see and practicality ran down the hallway. He slumped against his dresser, kicking the drawer shut with his foot as he did so.

What was wrong with him!? Those clothes above all things?!

He wondered what she looked like wearing his garments. Next to him was the jacket that he'd given her. He picked it up with one hand and brought it to his face. He inhaled the light scent of vanilla and something he couldn't quiet comprehend.

He smiled lightly and made his way over to his bed, seething the jacket back where he found it before. He sat down and crossed his legs, he looked at his hands until he heard footsteps come from the hallway.

"S-Sasuke-Kun um I-I'm finished..." when he saw her, words couldn't begin to describe the feeling that he got, it shot down his spine and rose the fine hairs on the back of his neck.

His shirt collar hid the bottom of her face from view, but it didn't stop him from seeing the flush upon her cheeks. The rest of his shirt dwarfed her and made her look just as tiny as she was. His boxers clung to her thighs and made her legs look long from where they cut off.

He was literally speechless. He had never imagined that she would be wearing his clothes. Ever. But here they were.

He made a motion with his hands calling her over to him, when she was within reach, he grabbed her dainty hand with his much larger one.

He had the urge to have those fingers combing through his scalp and he knew that he wouldn't be sated until it was done.

"Will you uh," he put her hand on top of his head and moved her fingers so that they were weaved in between his hair. "You know...please?" He didn't get an answer and he didn't have the guts to look her in the eye right now.

When he felt the bed dip behind him, his head snapped up a little. When one hand gently held the side of his face from behind, and guided his head down, he didn't fight it.

When his head was placed in her lap, he found it comforting.

"Of course Sasuke-Kun..." she replied softly. Her fingers began to run through his hair and massage his scalp. He felt the tension in his shoulders seep away into nothing.

He turned on his side and gently pressed his face into her stomach. She never ceased to amaze him really.

"Arigato Sakura..." He said quietly, and proceeded to just enjoy the moment with her.

In his peripheral vision he could see a soft smile on pink lips, illuminated by the light from his lamp.

"Anything for you Sasuke-Kun..."

It was then that he decided.

He liked them better together rather than by themselves.

_Because you make me hate myself less._

She flashed behind his closed eyelids.

_You annoying girl..._

He smirked into her side at the thought.


	6. Chapter 6: No Touchy

When he'd woken up the next morning, it wasn't because of his alarm clock, or because of annoying birds outside, it was because of the incessant knocking on his door.

Groaning Sasuke slowly opened his eyes. It took him a moment to adjust to the light filtering in through his open window. From his guess he'd say it was about 10:00, his alarm clock only proved him right.

It was Sunday, who the hell was at his door?! When he felt his body come back to him, he noticed a distinctive warmth in his bed. Under the covers with him.

What he saw was his arms wrapped intimately around Sakura, one around her waist and the other in her hand. She still wore his clothes, but she was facing away from him.

_Shit! I forgot that she was here!_

The knocking at his door didn't wake the girl, in fact she turned over, dislodging their hands as she did so. He would never admit it but he missed her smaller hand immediately.

He gently removed his other arm from around her waist careful not to wake her up.

He stepped out of his king sized bed gently, and brought the covers up to cover her- or at least to her shoulders. He walked around the bed still trying to wrap his head around the fact that he had slept in the same bed as her.

When he looked over his shoulder at her, he could see his clan's insignia on her back, long pink hair cascading around her.

He unconsciously smiled at her, before proceeding to get to his door. He would make sure that whoever came to his door this morning regretted it.

He swung open the door with a force that made the two people on the other side step back.

Naruto and Kakashi.

He growled and glared at them. "What are you two doing here!?" He said quietly afraid to wake the girl behind him.

"Sasuke-Teme! We can't find Sakura-Chan! She wasn't at her house and her parents are really worried dattebayo!" He slammed his hand over Naruto's mouth and stepped a little closer to the dead last.

"Be quite dobe!" He hissed at him, making an irk mark appear above Naruto's eyebrows.

He would come to regret stepping forward slightly in that moment. For when he did it allowed Kakashi to see into his apartment.

And what he saw made his one visible eye widen to incredible sizes. There lay Sakura, sprawled in Sasuke's bedsheets, and from what he could see, she was wearing Sasuke's shirt as well. Which would explain the absence of one on the Uchiha right now.

"Uh Sasuke? I hate to be a nag, but I thought you were gonna kill him before he repopulated your clan?" He gave the boy a coy smile before winking at him.

He watched as Sasuke's face turned from confusion to horror to anger.

"Leave. Now." He slammed the door in their faces.

Inside Kakashi chuckled evilly at the large flush that spread across Sasuke's cheeks.

_Ah, just like Icha Icha paradise..._

"But sensei! What about Sakura-Chan!?" Naruto asked in panic.

"Well Naruto I have actually found Sakura and decided that she is perfectly content with where she is at." Naruto gave him a look before they began to walk.

"I'll get you ramen if you drop it."

It was safe to say that the boy ran after him without hesitation.

When Sasuke returned to his bed, he found Sakura stirring and when she sat up, he got into the bed behind her. Pulling the blankets over him, he wrapped his arms around her petite waist once more, uncaring of the consequences that were sure to come later.

"S-Sasuke-Kun?" She said almost breathlessly-he could already imagine the tomato-like appearance of her face right now.

_Yum...tomatoes..._

"Just go back to sleep." He nuzzled his head into her hair, smelling just her.

"It was nothing." Doing as he instructed she did lay back down, but more tense than before. He sighed before interlacing his fingers with her own, rubbing his thumb over her bruised knuckles.

Why did this have to be so complicated? Why?

"Just a little longer..." he whispered softly into her ear.

His brain screamed in protest-he knew deep down this was wrong-because it was, but in his-well he wouldn't say heart-but he also knew that somewhere inside him, he wanted this. He wanted to feel her body next to his, instead of cold sheets greeting him as he awoke, he didn't want nightmares.

He wasn't surprised when she squeezed his fingers back-her dainty hands feeling so unbelievably small in his own.

What was wrong with him? Laying in a bed with a girl like this? They weren't even in a relationship. He wasn't even sure how he felt towards her. This whole situation wasn't fair to her.

Yet he still found himself holding her when they woke up next, fingers intertwined.

If someone were to ask Sasuke how they got here right now, he wouldn't be able to answer. Physically incapable of doing so. Like his mouth would not work.

The first thing that he knew, Sakura was waking up, and so was he, and somehow they were making breakfast together. He had no idea when that happened-but he felt his face get hotter than it already was at the thought.

He took his shirt off quickly and tossed it on the bench. He had not however planned to be unceremoniously dragged off in the middle of eating his delicious breakfast, to come to a hot spring.

A mixed bath hot spring at that.

He growled at Kakashi, who sat waiting for him and Naruto, a towel around his face and waist, reading that redorkilous book that he insisted to bring.

He grabbed a towel from a stack not to far away from him, the fabric softener's smell reaching his nose. He quickly slipped it around his waist and then be-rid himself of his lower garments.

"What Sasuke-Teme? You afraid to show?" Naruto snickered from across the room his own towel in place.

"No, I'm just not concerned about other males dick size-because I, unlike you, am not self conscious." He picked up his clothes before neatly folding them and placing them in a stack.

He placed them right next to Naruto and Kakashi's stack of clothes and in doing so, accidentally bumped into Naruto.

It would've been something that typically Sasuke wouldn't have of noticed, if it weren't for the words that followed Naruto's very large inhale.

"Sasuke-Teme you smell like a girl!" Naruto exclaimed loudly, Sasuke stiffened at the words. Kakashi could not contain his laughter as he doubled over-him being able to see Sasuke's increasingly growing red face.

"Dobe..." he muttered dangerously, clenching and un-clenching his hands at his sides, his left eye twitching.

Naruto, for the first time ever, seemed to notice the signs and made a beeline for the door into the bath. Sasuke was hot in his trail, Kakashi not far behind them.

When he mangaed to slam his shoulder into Naruto, and sent him flying into the water-he finally saw Sakura-or her silhouette that is.

Or at least, it looked like Sakura...

He was gravely mistaken, for when the figure turned around, he was met with platinum blonde hair.

He felt the bile rise in his throat.

What kind of sick joke was this?! Why in God's name was INO here!? When her eyes landed in him, she gave a large squeal and began to wade through the water toward him.

He quickly made for the direction Kakashi went.

"SASUKE-KUN MY LOVE! MY DARLING!" Ino screeched from behind him. He picked up the pace and jumped into the nearest spring-landing in between Kakashi and Naruto.

He gave a sigh of relief and watched as Ino stopped and stared. Before she crossed her arms over her chest and began to tap her foot. It was only then that Sasuke noticed she only wore a towel. He shivered at the thought of what she would do if she got her hands on him.

"Ah, Sasuke, There you are." Kakashi said offhandedly. Sasuke's attention however was on the dobe, who sat not too far away with a rag on top of his head.

"How the hell did you get over here before me?" Sasuke asked Naruto incredulously, his face contorted into one of utter confusion.

"Magic, Sasuke-Teme, magic..." the Dobe sunk into the water and was gone within a second only the towel from his head left behind.

"Sasuke-Kun! Pay attention to your future wife!" Ino said loudly from the side of the pool, as she began to get in she swiftly removed her towel-Sasuke turned away as quick as physically possible.

Was she crazy?! Yeah sure it was a mixed bath, but just to blatantly do it like that in front of all these people?! Did she have no shame at all?!

"Don't tell me you'd rather see forehead girl naked? Compared to me?!" Ino screamed sassily one hand on her hip.

_That nickname...forehead girl..._

Unconsciously underneath the water Sasuke's hands clenched into fists and a crease appeared in between his forehead.

_Keep it together..._

If he could never manage to keep his anger to a minimum how could he ever expect to be more than a genin? And losing his temper over a few words would probably not bode well with his superiors.

"Sasuke-Kun! You're so hot when you're wet!" Ino latched onto his arm and he felt his stomach drop. This was so GROSS!

"Get off now." He felt his anger rise when she only pressed herself further into his arm.

_Oh god I'm going to be sick..._

"Sasuke-Kun? Ino-Pig?" He heard her voice not ten feet away from him right now. Was it just a tad bit odd that he liked it when she sounded so meek? Yet he also hated it because he knew that she was stronger than that?

He could only stare as she stood there clasping her towel closer to her chest. Her long hair was damp from all the steam in the air, making it cling to her shoulders. He stared wide eyed as she plastered a fake smile on her face before walking down and away from them.

"Sakura! Down here!" He heard a distinctly male voice call. He turned just enough to make it seem like he didn't care.

There sat Shikamaru waving down his girl. A smile on his face, and sitting with his group of friends.

He growled quite loudly at the offending male, how dare he call her over like they were together!

Around the pineapple-haired male sat the Fatty, the Weapon Girl, The Hyūga, Naruto's Secret Lover as she had been dubbed, Bushy Brows, Dog Boy, and Bug Boy.

And while he couldn't hear any of the conversation, he had a bad feeling from the way that the Lazy Ass was sitting so close to her.

Going over to the other side, let's hear their conversation while Sasuke gets jealous, shall we?

"Hey Sakura it's been a while! How's your aim getting?" Tenten asked from Neji's side. In fact every time the Weapons Mistress moved even slightly the Hyūga would twitch-afraid that she'd move away.

Sakura smiled happily before replying snarkily, "Probably better than yours!" She laughed as did Tenten.

"You wish!" That made them both laugh harder.

"Sakura-San! How has the taijutsu I taught you been doing?!" Lee gave her puppy eyes and she laughed at the expression.

"If I'm being honest, I have no idea how you preform those Lee! Seriously how is your back not broken?" She smiled at him and he gave her a thumbs up and a dazzling smile.

"But I got really close the other day to the last one you taught me!" They both talked about training plans for the next week.

"Haruno-San," Neji spoke for the first time that day, his pearly eyes staring straight into her soul.

She gulped, Neji was always very intimidating. "Yes Neji-San?" She kept her voice steady and she couldn't be more proud of herself.

"Would you care to explain why the Uchiha is mentally slitting our throats' with his eyes? He subtly pointed over in Sasuke's direction, where she looked at him out of the corner of her eye.

He sure did look pissed-but if she had to take a guess as to why, it would probably be because Ino was trying to rape him.

"Probably because he's getting raped?" What she was not expecting was for everyone to burst out laughing, but she soon joined in once the initial shock wore off.

"Yeah, Ino won't quit. Every day she complains 'Why did Forehead-Girl get to be in Sasuke-Kun's team!'" Shikamaru imitated Ino's high pitched voice. More rounds of laughter followed after.

They sat there chatting about what was happening in the village, about the small political disagreement the Hyūga were having with the Elder's, and how it was affecting the import trade.

"Well you see," Neji began to explain. "There are only some thing's that can be found by Hyūga's-not even the Inuzuka or the Aburume could find this plant-" he cut off and looked pointedly at the two members of the clans "no offense." Which was chorused by two 'None taken'.

"As it has no smell or significant florescence that it leaves in the air-unlike most plants. You need our eyes to find it. But Hiashi-Sama has been refusing to send any of the clan out until his demands are met. Thus the trade will be affected greatly-which could also put the balance of treaty's at risk-everyone know's that the Elder's aren't that senile, so of course Hiashi-Sama's demands will be met with by the end of the month, no doubt." Neji sat silent for a minute carefully watching everyone's reactions.

"What?" He snapped, his tone one of annoyance.

"Well it's just that, well you know?" Sakura said, and when he raised and eyebrow she sighed. "That's just the longest sentence I've ever-well probably any of us have heard you say!" She flailed her arms at him.

"Oh...yes I suppose it is." And we were back to just a couple words.

They continued to talk for a while, Shikamaru took a look around the steamy room, only to find the Uchiha still burning holes into him with his eyes.

He quickly averted his eyes-until it quickly hit him. The Uchiha was jealous-he was jealous that Sakura was over here with them, rather than with him.

He smirked, he didn't particularly hate Sasuke, but they weren't exactly friends either. He just didn't like the Uchiha's haughty 'I'm better than you so go fuck your self' attitude.

Seeing him a little pissy would definitely make him happy.

"Sakura?" When said girl looked at him, he faced her fully, he grabbed his hair tie and snapped it, letting his hair down. His mom had once told him that he would kill ladies if he kept his hair down.

_Troublesome woman..._

The dampness of his hair, combined with the water that slid down his bare chest made for quiet the sight, and if Sakura was being honest, he did look hot.

"Do you wanna make Sasuke jealous?" He gave her a foxy smirk and watched in delight as her cheeks flushed red. She gave him a confused look before quickly nodding her head.

He closed his eyes and opened them half lidded, he put his arms on the sides of her body, very close to touching but not. The group-who had heard what Shikamaru said, only smiled and tried to keep their snickers down.

"Are you sure you won't be mad if I do anything?" He stooped his vocal octave until his voice sounded like what most would call husky.

She only gave the slightest of nods as he dipped his head lower. He could practically feel the Uchiha's animosity from over here. He chuckled under his breath as his lips ghosted over Sakura's neck.

He didn't get far before he felt his back hit the opposite side of the spring. One hand around his neck and the other pulled back in a fist.

Yeah Sasuke was definitely pissed. Shikamaru inwardly chuckled at the look on the Uchiha's face but on the outside he was actually kind of scared.

The hatred in those eyes, while it probably wasn't _reserved_ for _him_, it was being _directed_ at _him_.

He could feel it all, the resentment, the burning bloodlust, the absolute core of hatred that seemed to consume the Uchiha in that moment frightened him. It wasn't that he was afraid of Sasuke-he was afraid of what he could do if said hatred were to get out of control.

"Don't," Sasuke's head was bowed low.

"You ever," his breathing got heavy and Shikamaru felt the hairs raise on the back of his neck.

"Touch," he brought his face next to his ear, bangs still covering his eyes.

"What's mine..." Shikamaru could faintly feel himself shaking as the Uchiha turned his eyes to him.

He found blood red and slow spinning tomoe, seeking out his soul, ripping his every living essence away from him. Drowning him in pools of dark blood that suffocated him from the inside out. The deepness of it took him in, killed him and put him where he was before.

The hatred...

"Sasuke-Kun stop! Please!" Sakura's voice called out from behind them. In a blink the haunting pair of eyes were gone.

Sasuke turned around, grabbed Sakura's hand and began to make his way away from them.

"I'm taking you home, we'll eat whatever you want." It hit everyone that he said 'home' as if they lived in the same house and they were going to eat together.

"You see," Kakashi smiled behind the rag that was tied around his face.

"I said today would be entertaining! Why do you think I invited you all?"

Everyone glared immediately at the Copy-Nin, who shut up right afterwards.

It was safe to say that Sasuke left with Sakura that day. And if one were walking through Konoha you would find them at a Dango shop sitting outside.

It was that one moment where the boy pushes his desert towards the girl, with that flustered look of embarrassment as his eyes look away. She'll only laugh and say something along the lines of "You look even cuter when you're flustered!"

His face will only get more red.

No one noticed the crow that watched them intently from across the street, his red eye tracking the movements of the two individuals sitting idly.

~*~*~*~*~

**_Okay! Hey! I'm lovesnaruto7! I'm sorry for not posting authors notes up until now! I just didn't have time! I enjoy reviews/comments and votes! I would like some insight! I hope that you're enjoying my story! I never see enough genin SasuSaku so I wrote one!_**


	7. Chapter 7: New Roommate

True to his word Sasuke had let Sakura pick what they ate for dinner. She had insisted that they eat at a restaurant that Sasuke had never been to.

"My papa and I used to eat here a lot..." she only said when he'd asked how she knew of it. Sasuke didn't question the past-tense of her sentence, but he definitely noticed it.

The nagging in the back of his head told him to press the issue farther, but something else told him that if he did he'd ruin the date-! Dinner! DINNER! It was a dinner, not a DATE!

So here he was, sitting in his bed the next morning, wondering what the day would bring for him. He let a small smile slip onto his face as he recalled how last night ended.

Sakura had told him that she would pay-he gave her a glare and she stopped. He threw his money and top on the table and quickly stood up, thanking the kind old woman who had served them.

"Oh, anytime dear! I'm so happy that Saku-Chan here has found a boy to settle down with! Better start early I always say!" She grabbed his face in her hands and he resisted the urge to flinch, he wasn't great with physical contact.

Except...

He looked at Sakura under his eyelashes.

...I fucking hate my brain...

"Now you young man!" The old woman addressed him. He looked at her with confusion written all over his face.

"I better see some little children with the last name 'Uchiha' in the next few years, or else I'll be too old to spoil them!" He bristled at the not-so-subtle insinuation. Face turning red he did the first thing that his parents told him to do when talking to old people.

Be polite and agree even if you don't mean it.

"Yes of course Mai-San." He pried her hands from his face with a respectful nod. He bowed slightly before making his way to the exit. When he didn't hear the sound of footsteps behind him he looked over his shoulder subtly.

Sakura seemed frozen her face redder than his favorite food. Her hands stuck in the air, eyes wide and mouth agape like a fish.

What a cute little fishy!

...

...

...

Oh my god, I need fucking help! Who says 'what a cute little fishy!'?!

Well, perhaps he could use this as an advantage, if he were to try and touch Sakura in public rumors could start very easily. He kept his distance when others were around, or at least from his perspective he did.

He walked back over to the frozen girl who seemingly couldn't move. He stared at her for a few moments, before initially deciding that he was going to leave, but it wouldn't be without the frozen girl.

So quickly looping one arm around her waist, and one on the back of her thighs(his brain stopped functioning the moment he did) he swooped her up and placed her on his shoulder. Carrying her like one might a sack of potatoes.

"Thank you for the food Mai-San but we must be going." He said curtly giving a nod of his head.

If he was being honest Sakura didn't weigh that much, but she did weigh more than last time he had her on him. In the woods that night after they found out Naruto's secret.

A part of him told him that she hadn't gained any weight regarding fat, but perhaps it was in muscle? Even in his hazed state from before he definitely recalled her training while he and Naruto weren't there. He defiantly saw that.

The image was still a bit fuzzy but none the less it was very clear to him.

As Sasuke continued to stare at the ceiling thought's of fantasies that were never to happen drifting through-out his head, he heard a sharp knock at the door.

In his mind the faint hope that perhaps Sakura had come to visit him rang and echoed. But he quickly wiped away whatever ache had begun to bloom in his chest at the thought.

Throwing the blankets off of himself he lightly stretched before walking briskly over to the door, throwing a shirt on as he did so.

The sight that had awaited him was not one that he had been expecting.

On the other side of the door stood Mikoto in her all three four foot glory, a small bag and her bunny in her arm.

"Sasuke-Chan!" The girl launched herself at his legs and held on tightly smiling as she did so.

To say that he was shocked was an understatement, why was this little girl at his house? Not that he was bothered, in fact, it was more of a pleasant surprise than anything else,

He had a certain fondness for Mikoto, the little girl who looked like a mix of himself and Sakura, the little girl who shared his mother's name and talked adamantly to her bunny.

Yes, fondness without a doubt.

"I missed you Sasuke-Chan!" She looked up at him her hair was loose and her green eyes sparkled at him from down below.

He was at a huge loss for words, so all he said was "Ah...me as well..."

He was very confused, to say the least, but he knew one thing, he couldn't leave her or her things standing outside his door.

So when she let go of his legs he swiftly grabbed her bag from the hall, checking both ways for bystanders, before pulling his body back into his apartment.

He guided her to his decent living room, which contained a simple couch, recliner, TV and low sitting table. His bookshelf right next to the recliner.

Setting her bag down he watched as she explored what little space she was given. Her first advance was towards his bookshelf, she skimmed along them all until she found his childhood books, which he hadn't the heart to get rid of.

Too many precious thought's lied with those books, warm night's cuddled against his mother as she read him them. The small sigh of love that she would let out as he fell asleep against her.

"Mikoto, why are you here?" He had to get straight to the point if he was going to get this done.

"Oh, u-uh H-Hokage-Sama told m-me that I w-would live here now, w-with you..." Again her voice began to die as if she feared the things that he would say. The thing's that he would do.

"Ah, I see. Hmm." He placed his head in his hands, this was a lot to process at the beginning of the day, and with no note or some kind of legal form, he was left at a loss.

He couldn't very well turn her away, he just wouldn't, he was man enough to admit that that particular course of action was pitiful.

But as he gazed into her gleaming green eyes, the ones that feared for the worst, he found himself smiling lightly. No, he didn't have much of a problem for now.

But another thought occurred to him then, and the intensity of it, along with the striking reality had him freezing.

When had he stopped thinking about the future, and his goals, and begun to think about now, and the people of now, the ones that were merely obstacles?

When had he lost sight? When had his ultimate goal become but a blur in the back of his mind? When had he LET it become that blur?

He didn't know the answer, simply because he truly didn't know. How could so much time have passed? How did it leave behind that day where he stared hatefully at a picture on his nightstand?

When had it been that he last stared hatefully at his headband? The one that a traitor wore once?

Who's the traitor now?

A small tug on his short's had him looking down, thought's of before but a faint echo as he began to feel the familiar numbness.

"A-ano Sasuke-Chan? I- um I'm uh I'm hungry..." The little girl looked downcast even as the words escaped her mouth.

He felt that tug again as he got up, and lead her by the hand to the kitchen.

Obstacles are nothing to me, bonds are but a word, love is but a lie...

When Sakura knocked on the door of Sasuke's apartment the morning after the hot springs she was just frazzled with nerves. She had goosebumps running up and down her arms and legs. She felt somewhere between throwing up and leaving.

It wasn't that she wanted to leave, because it took almost everything in her to come here, but she didn't want to be annoying.

Despite the verbal abuse at the start of their team, Sakura caught on quite quickly, she knew when she annoyed the boy that she held close to her heart, and she had made it a point to try and stop.

It had taken the accident coupled with dying words to get it in her fucking head, that she wasn't that great, and that if she wanted to feel great, she had to be great.

Shaking away thoughts that threaten to consume her whole, she shakily lifted a fist. Perhaps he hadn't heard her at first? From what she could tell something very loud was going on in Sasuke's apartment; which was surprising considering Sasuke's quiet nature.

When she once again received no answer, she went for the door handle, her fingers quivering as she did so. She twisted the bob and took a tentative step into the noisy apartment.

The sound that had invaded her ears was that of laughter, childish laughter. Female laughter as well. Curious more than jealous, Sakura took quiet steps towards the kitchen.

And proceeded to Burt's out laughing as she saw a flour-covered Sasuke with an egg in his hair.

Bent over hands on her knees Sakura struggled to catch her breath, like how the hell had he got to looking like that?!

At the sound of her less-than-lady-like laughter, Sasuke turned his head and stared at her, eyes wide and mouth agape.

"Stop laughing! I didn't do this she did!" He pointed at the little girl who was still her side laughing like there was no tomorrow.

When neither stopped laughing Sasuke got an irk mark on his forehead.

"Stop laughing or I'll beat you!" He said furiously.

"I'd like to see you try pretty boy!" Sakura wheezed out dying of laughter even harder as he screamed in frustration.

When Sakura did manage to catch her breathe finally she looked at the little girl who was on the floor trying to catch her breath as well.

"Sasuke-Kun?" All the previous nervousness gone and replaced with curiosity.

"Hn?" Uchiha lingo she could do, that was for damn sure.

"'Why is Mikoto here? Not to say that having her here is bad or anything, in fact I'm quite happy to see her, I'm just curious..." Sasuke quietly choose to ignore the way that her voice died as if she was afraid to ask him something.

"She is to live with me until further notice, by order of Hokage-Sama." He said it without any remorse or ill feelings, and that Sakura was shocked at.

He really did care for this small little girl, didn't he? She sighed internally at him, looking every bit a father that she knew he would become someday. He had every quality, but he just didn't know it.

It stabbed at her heart that she knew he would never pick her, she was raised by her grandparents who were gone now, her father was the only one left, she came from civilians, had no outstanding physical quality's, and had no bloodline.

She was a nobody, and she couldn't possibly be the one for him.

As always when the thought hit her, she became just the slightest disappointed. But quickly she put on a fake smile and greeted the little girl who came to hide behind her at Sasuke's glare.

"Sasuke-Kun, you're making a mess, go take a shower, Mikoto and I will clean up here, don't worry." She smiled at home, genuinely this time, and watched as he walked down the hall to the bathroom.

He didn't even argue with us, he just listened.

It didn't take them long to clean the kitchen, and it was then that Sakura knew that she'd spent too long at Sasuke's house, she needed to go to the hospital.

"I'm sorry Mikoto-Chan, but I have to go, we can pick up where we left off next time okay?" Sakura gently set the book down, the crude drawing of kittens on the front of the child book made her smile slightly.

"Aww, Sakura-San do you have to leave?" Mikoto gave her puppy eyes, but Sakura knew that she had to leave.

"I'm sorry Mikoto-Chan, but I have to go see someone very important."

With a childish gasp Mikoto wiggled her eyebrows at her. "Sakura-Chan do you have a boyfriend?!" Sakura was more surprised at the change in honorific rather than the question.

Before she could deny it Mikoto was bounding all around the house screaming "Sakura has a boyfriend!!!" trying to catch up to the little kid was too hard to catch because she just wouldn't stop moving and Sakura didn't want to use her real speed in fear that she would somehow ruin Sasuke's apartment.

Sakura span round and went for the door, slipping on her shoes, she reached for her jacket that she had hung up not long ago.

A hard grip on her wrist halted her from leaving. She turned and found burning black eyes, a crease in between them, and a scowl decorating his features.

"Where are you going?" It shouldn't have, truly it shouldn't have, but his words scared her, just the tone scared her.

"S-Sasuke-k-Kun I-I'm going t-to the hospital..." she wanted to flee, to run away, she really should've just left when she wanted to earlier, this was nothing but a mistake.

His eyes seemed to soften for a moment, but he didn't release her hand.

"Why?" His tone no longer held that hint of darkness, but was still shiver worthy none-the-less.

"I-" She should tell him? The reason why she was often late for training? The reason why she was always tired? The reason why she just seemed to disappear randomly?

He was Sasuke, he was the boy who wanted the darkness to consume him. The boy who wanted revenge. He was the boy that she loved, and if she couldn't give him this, then how could she hope to give him anything else?

Letting her head fall down, she spoke softly and quietly.

"I'm visiting my Papa Sasuke-Kun..." The tensing in his hand told her that he was shocked, and she felt her tears well up, perhaps he would pity her? The one thing that she'd been trying to avoid was pity, that's why she hadn't told anyone.

She didn't need to be coddled, she was a ninja. She would show them that her Papa would leave a strong legacy. She wanted...

She wanted this to all go away...

"H-he, my P-Papa..He's sick..." A sob wretched it's way through her throat.

Not here! Not here! She pleaded with her body and mind.

She didn't know what she really expected, but a hug certainly wasn't it.

Sasuke-Kun was big, and warm. He felt like he would protect her from everything, and as she let him hold her, she couldn't help but think.

This, this is one thing that she wanted to stay forever.

And as she wound her arms around his neck, and he lifted her off the ground effortlessly, she inhaled his scent of shampoo and something entirely just him.

Never leave my side.

He set her on his bed before he pulled her into his lap, it almost seemed like she fit perfectly there. Mikoto watched carefully behind the wall, before coming up and grabbing the edge of Sakura's dress.

"Oh baby..." He said softly as more tears streamed out of her eyes and down her cheeks, staining his shirt.

His hand wove in and out of her hair and she couldn't help but feel more and more at peace.

"I love you Sasuke-Kun..." a small murmur against his heart and she gave into oblivion.

It was too bad that she couldn't hear how his heart stopped at those words, or how it sped up immediately afterward.

~*~*~*~*~*~

I accidentally posted the next chapter before this one and I feel so stupid! I'm so sorry for the inconvience! I don't really like how this turned out, but it needed to be done-leave me feedback.

-lovesnaruto7


	8. Chapter 8: Meeting the Father

A breakdown can do a lot of things to someone. It can make them better, it can make them worse. It can make them grow close to those around them, or it can distance them.

For Sakura, it seemed, that the latter of them all was her way of coping with it.

She distanced herself from them, and sadly Sasuke was the one that she truly seemed to want to get away from.

Sasuke himself noticed more so than anyone. He noticed how she would move away from him during training, and when they would walk she would stand on the far side of Kakashi. Any conversation that he tried to initiate with her seemed to end in awkward hurtful moments.

He would like to say that it wasn't affecting him, but he knew better. Him waking up in the morning reaching for her body told him that he knew better.

And it downright pissed him off.

He didn't understand what he had done wrong. He thought that perhaps Sakura wished for thing's to go back to the way that they were before. Before any of this had happened.

A small part in the back of his head wished for it too. Because this girl had caused unspeakable things inside of him.

He didn't think that he could forgive her-not that he really held a grudge against her-but he knew that something inside of him hurt, and he knew that it was her fault.

And Sasuke didn't like his feelings to be fucked with, that's why he kept them hidden, and locked up tight as hell.

So when training ended for the third day after she had been at his apartment, he knew that he had to speak with her.

"All right team, good job today, I'm happy that you are all improving-especially you Sakura." All their eyes flicked to Kakashi, watching as he smiled underneath that stupid mask.

"Me Sensei? Don't you mean Sasuke or Naruto?" And he couldn't deny that he flinched every time his name came out of her mouth without the -Kun.

If the other two noticed the difference they didn't question it-what he didn't know was that the only reason they hadn't mentioned it was because of his furious glare every time it happened.

Kakashi shook his head and came close to Sakura ruffling her hair.

"Nope, I mean you! Over this past month, you have shown substantial improvement, your speed has increased and you've been better about thinking on your feet-and don't forget that power you've been working on-and yeah before you ask, I saw what happened that day." He wiggled his eyebrows and shot Sasuke what he assumed was a sly smile.

He only glared completely not understanding what it was that Kakashi was referring to. (The time that Sasuke was sick)

Sakura bowed her head and flushed. Nodding she thanked their Sensei before they were all dismissed. Naruto left immediately afterward, for what he had no idea, Kakashi just disappeared.

That left Sakura alone with him.

He noted quite quickly that she noticed this as well because she made a beeline for the village. He wouldn't let this opportunity slip away from him, he needed to settle this once and for all, he wouldn't let her continue to run away.

"Sakura get back here now!" He snarled at her, feeling his patience run thin, this was utter bullshit. She ran away from his like he had the plague! She stopped and he saw her clench her fists at her side. Slowly he approached her, and he stepped in front of her. He had no idea what to say to her. The last time he had seen her she had been bawling her eyes out telling him how her father was in the hospital. Still rather embarrassed about the situation, he cleared his throat, knowing that what he was about to do would ruin his reputation all the way, he spoke.

"Come on," He grabbed her wrist just barely missing her hand and cursing inwardly as he did so. "We're going to the hospital." He said quietly bowing his head, a flush high on his cheeks. He screamed at himself internally. What was he doing?! Bringing her to the hospital!?

He pulled on her wrist and she followed him down the lone dirt path. From his vision, he could see a few ninja teams training and practicing. Trying to get his mind away from what he was doing he opened his mouth again, which seemed to be a reoccurring problem for him.

"I want to meet your dad." _WHAT THE FUCK!_ How were those the words that came out of his mouth!? Seriously! It made him sound like he wanted to court her or something!

He heard her gasp from behind him, and she stopped, digging her heels into the ground as she did so, efficiently stopping them.

_Oh god, what did I do now?_ Sasuke thought to himself looking over his shoulder at her, and what greeted him was not what he expected.

"You...you want to meet my dad Sasuke-Kun?" She said a shy smile on her face, and a light pink dusting her cheeks. His heart let out a little flutter at the smile that was directed his way. But his stomach was doing somersaults at the suffix she used at the end of his name. Feeling his cheeks catch aflame he turned away from her.

"Hn." He said and he continued walking, a little ways down the road when he was still trying to clear his head, he felt Sakura's wrist slip from his grasp. He was about to turn around and see what the problem was, before he felt her tiny fingers interlace with his own. Cheeks heating up he almost tripped but regained his composure.

_This is nothing, I'm just doing this to make her happy, it's not like I want to actually meet her dad..._

Lies lead to nothing but despair. He continued to walk down the dirt road until they came upon the gate. An internal debate insue within him; should he let go of her hand? Or should he keep holding it? Frustrated he quickly made his way past the gate, ignoring the stares that followed him. He felt his face heat up even more as he heard the whispers. Why was this bothering him so much?! The stares had never bothered him this much, he had just let them roll off of him.

He heard the squeal of delight ahead of him and came back to reality. A hoard of fangirls stood there, with hearts in their eyes. He didn't even hesitate when he ran down the nearest ally, dragging Sakura with him. They ran until they came to a dead-end, and he was not about to be hugged and squeezed and told how beautiful he was today! He wanted to fucking leave! So gathering his thoughts and bearings, he grabbed Sakura from around the waist and pulled her flush against him.

He jumped up and took her legs underneath his arm, feeling her skin press under his fingers. His hair was swept away by the wind and he watched silently as her fingers flexed around the dark blue fabric of his shirt. Her legs he noted offhandedly, were shapely, and now that he felt them underneath his hands he could definitely tell.

He pulled her tighter against him, wanting to close that seemingly unbelievably large gap between them, even if only physically. Sighing he watched as her eyes found his own, wondering how in the hell he managed to get himself into these situations.

He was lost in her eyes the whole way to the hospital.

* * *

He never thought he could be so nervous. Like hands shaking, head hurting, throw-up kind of nervous. But here he was, sitting outside a hospital room, hands clasped together and looking like he didn't belong there at all. He'd be lying if he said he wasn't anxious, but nervous, he didn't know about.

Sakura had been in there for what felt like an eternity, but was probably only about two minutes. He felt shivers go up and down his spine, because the door was slowly opening now. Sakura still had her head inside the room, and he heard her laugh from the inside, and as she walked out she said "Okay, just a minute papa." Reality kinda smacked him right in the face then. He was meeting her dad. HER FATHER. This man, whether he liked to admit it or not, gave him shivers for reasons he didn't know.

She closed the door behind her and she smiled lightly at him. He stood up stiffly and made his way towards the door. Sakura put a hand on his chest and laughed lightly, shaking her head. "Sasuke-Kun, you don't have to be scared, my papa won't hurt you!" She laughed at him, but all he could focus on was her hand that leaked warmth through his shirt. He scowled at her and made a face, he was definitely NOT scared.

"Hn, it's funny you think that I'm scared," he smirked, "remind me who is deathly afraid of spiders again?" He chuckled lightly as her face lit up, turning so red at one point he was questioning her health.

She lightly pushed him as the door opened and they walked in, he gave her the smallest of smiles and she returned it with a bright happy one of her own. He turned to face the side of the room when he heard a cough. Straightening he observed the man who lay on a hospital bed, Silver hair that was natural and sunken cheeks that made him flinch. A frail frame that quivered with the small amount of air conditioner that was allowed in the room on the hot summer day.

"Papa, this is Sasuke-Kun, he's my teammate, and my friend." Sakura seemed nervous, almost as nervous as he was, he saw her wring her hands together and he had the urge to hold them but he pushed it back. Shaking away the thoughts he turned towards the older male, extending his hand he stared into his light green eyes.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, my name is Uchiha Sasuke." He felt the familiar rush of pride enter his system when he said his heritage, he would always remember to remind people what clan it was that he came from, that he came from a prestigious clan. The man's eyes widened just a little, and he laughed. Sasuke was confused and a little pissed off. Why was he laughing?

"Ah, I remember you now!" He continued to let out a small chuckle and he held his stomach gently.

"You are Fugaku's boy!" He said jovially. Sasuke felt his blood freeze in his veins. It had been so long since he had heard that name from anothers mouth, no one ever talked to him about the massacre ever. Sasuke had to strongly resist the urge to gape, how did he knew his father?!

Sakura looked just as confused as he did, which he was mildly thankful for. The man quieted himself and placed an understanding gaze on Sasuke, the boy could only be thankful that his gaze wasn't full of pity.

"You-you knew my father?" Sasuke managed to get out, feeling his throat constrict around his words.

The man smiled and nodded.

"I was one of the Uchiha Clans best merchants, I sold them things that you could only get in other countries, the things that they wanted specifically." He coughed and bent forward. The cough racked his whole body and Sakura quickly rushed to his side. She held a glass of water up to his lips and he drank slowly from it. She placed pillows behind him and he sat back, breathing deeply as he wiped away the water that had gathered at the edge of his eyes.

"Before I continue, I suppose I should introduce myself," He took a deep breath. "I am Kizashi Haruno, and as you know Sakura is my beautiful daughter," He gestured to Sakura who had taken a seat by the window, the sun bathing her form as she watched them talk. Her hair seemed to have a glow as the sun hit it just right, her ninja shorts and her customary red halterneck shirt. Her ninja pouch tied around her waist, and the hitaite(**_I don't know how to spell it sry XD)_** tied on her head to keep her hair away from her face.

Yes, he knew Kizashi's beautiful daughter Sakura.

"Yes...I know her..." Sasuke said dazedly, and Sakura quickly turned away from his eyes suddenly finding the window very interesting. Kizashi laughed lightly successfully drawing Sasuke's attention back to him.

"Your father and I often went out for drinks. He could swallow a lot that man could," Kizashi laughed and Sasuke found himself only mildly impatient to hear the rest. "You should've seen him the day you were born, he was so happy. You couldn't keep the clan head from smiling that day." Kizashi smiled fondly and Sasuke felt his chest warm. He knew his father had loved him always, he just had an odd way of showing it.

"You know, he named you after Sarutobi Sasuke? Lord Thirds' father? He sure had a lot of respect for that man," Sasuke had not known, perhaps his parents had wanted to wait until he was older to tell him. Being named after such an important man was an honor, and he suddenly found himself liking his name even more than before.

"I, I was unaware." He said absentmindedly. He wondered how much he truly missed out on, how much he could've known had one fateful day been skipped.

The room was silent for a moment as Sasuke mulled over the new information that had been presented to him.

"Sakura, dear, could I have a word with Sasuke-San here _alone_?" Sasuke felt all the bone's in his body seize and a panic attack on the verge. Of course, he wouldn't actually have a panic attack, it was just a very un-Uchiha thing to do, especially at a moment such as this, but the prospect of being alone in a room wit Sakura's father scared him to death. He knew that he had no possible reason to be afraid, for there was no actual way that her father had found out the things that they had done. Like how she had slept in his bed, worn his clothes, gone on a date-**DINNER** with him, or fallen on top of him in the middle of the forest as they tried to escape from Naruto.

Surely he knew none of that, right?

"Oh, of course, papa, just call me if you need me!" She ran to his bed-side and kissed his cheek. On her way out her hand grazed his own and he had a hard time deciding if it was an accident or not. A small part of him hoped that no, it was not an accident. His thoughts were pushed away as the door closed and Kizashi's face became more stern.

Sighing the older man faced towards him and Sasuke felt his resolve strengthen. He thought that maybe her father would want him to stay away from Sakura, because of **_him,_** that man that ruined everything, but Sasuke would have none of it. He would not allow her to be taken away from him, he would not allow her father to forbid him from seeing her. Because if it came down to it, Sasuke would put his life down for her, and everyone but Sakura seemed to know it.

"I have seen the way you look at my daughter." The man started, Sasuke felt a jolt at the mans voice and quickly paid attention. " I understand that you are both on the same team as well." He looked straight into Sasuke's eyes, and he felt a little jolt. "If it came down to it, would you protect my little girl?" Sasuke felt the words throw themselves out of his mouth before he could even think.

"Of course!" Perhaps he had been a bit loud because he heard a suspicious 'thump' from outside the room. The man looked a bit surprised, perhaps he had been expecting something else?

Silence ensued again, and he found that heat was coming to his cheeks, why did he have to blurt that out?!

"I see..." Kizashi Haruno bowed his head, and he shook his head. When he lifted it tears were forming at the edges of his eyes. "Please, Sasuke-San, take care of my little girl. I'm not going to be here for much longer, I know, her mother isn't here either, so she's going to be all alone soon." A tear made his way down the older man's cheek slowly. "My little girl is a shinobi now, and I know that she's very strong, but she's still my daughter." A small choked sound made Sasuke flinch and the other man continued.

"I beg you Sasuke-San, please take care of my daughter. Love her for all she's worth, because I won't be here anymore, and I know that she cares for you, just as you do her."

Sasuke didn't say a word as he stepped out of the room, only giving the slightest of nods that made a smile bloom on a dying mans' face.

* * *

He found Sakura sitting in a chair, her head hung and her hands fidgeting as she continued to wait impatiently, he stepped forward until his feet were within her vision. Her head snapped up and she looked pale, but the second her eyes met his, her entire face turned red. She slapped her hands on her cheeks and shook her head. She stood up and collided her head with his chin.

"Oh, I'm so sorry Sasuke-Kun-!" He grabbed her suddenly and pulled her flush against him. He would protect her. His mind was racing with thoughts of Itachi, the massacre and Sakura. His head spun with the revelation that somewhere deep down he knew that he would choose her. Another part of him screamed that he had vowed revenge, and his family would never have solace until _that man_ was dead. He only pulled her closer trying and failing to shut the world out, the voices in his head screaming at him and his body seizing up. He felt so claustrophobic right now, he wanted to escape, to keep running until he hit the edge until his legs gave out from underneath him and he could no longer move.

He squeezed her and felt her underneath his hands, he wound his hands through her silky hair, the pink color blurring with his vision. He didn't jump when her hands hit his hair, or when they stroked it. They wove their way through and scratched lightly at his scalp, oh he loved her hands. He held her tighter and found the crook of her neck, burrowing his face into it, inhaling the scent of peaches that came with her.

He could stand here forever, with her, trying to forget about the world, with her hands in his hair, and her scent invading him.

He would choose her.

And that scared him.

* * *

OMG I am so sorry for the late update! Also for spelling errors, because I definitely cannot spell at all. Please leave me reviews! They make me update faster!


	9. Chapter 9: Taken Away

**(You should listen to Solitary by Guardian while listening to this-lovesnaruto7)**

He wished that he had never even gone on this mission. He rubbed at his nose and continued to walk, Naruto to his left and Sakura to his right. They were in the land of Tea and they were supposed to be ambassadors of sorts. Kami-Sama knows why the Hokage decided to pick Naruto to go, but here they are.

They were supposed to make friendly relations with the Daimyo, just to tell him about Konoha's recent trade functions and how it would benefit them. They were about halfway there by now, only because Naruto requested that they stop for bathroom breaks like every fifteen minutes. Sasuke was beginning to get agitated, and when Naruto stopped again Sasuke lost his patience completely.

"That's it baka! I'm going ahead! This is a waste of time, you keep stopping and we could've been there by now if it wasn't for you!" He shouted into the bushes. Without thinking he grabbed Sakura's hand and dragged her ahead, he didn't want to wait for Naruto, plus the fact that he didn't like talking to Sakura in front of them, it just made him feel weird and he didn't like it. Kakashi did nothing to stop them, knowing that Tea was one of the safest places to be right now, and he knew that his students could handle it.

He huffed, and when he realized that Sakura had not said anything about them holding hands he let go, feeling embarrassed as hell. He turned to find her face was slightly red as well. He slowed down to walk next to her, and he found the atmosphere very awkward. He had been dwelling on the subject of his and Sakura's relationship for a while now, and he had come to the conclusion that they didn't know each other very well. It had come to him late, and he felt kinda stupid for not noticing sooner. He looked to the left feeling only slightly stupid for what he was about to do.

"Sakura, let's play a game." He said quickly, he felt so fucking stupid he had the urge to hit his hand against his forehead.

She looked shocked and turned to face him, narrowing her eyes in a distrustful manner. She'd seen the kind of games that Sasuke and Naruto played, and she wanted nothing to do with it.

"You're spending too much time with Naruto." She said bluntly watching his face morph into disbelief and then into shock and then to disgust.

"What?!" He said indignantly, they continued to walk and Sakura smiled at his reaction, she laughed as she walked a little faster, maybe she liked talking to him alone too?

"I'm just kidding Sasuke-Kun," She laughed at him again and turned to face him while walking backward, she smiled at him and he felt his heart beat faster. "now, what game did you want to play?" he didn't even have an excuse as to why he wanted to play, yet she didn't question him about it. That was always one thing that he'd love about Sakura, she would never question him, she had full faith in him and that made him feel warm.

"Twenty questions." He said scratching his hair absentmindedly, Sakura turned to face forward and she nodded enthusiastically.

"Oh, I love this game! I'll go first!" She looked contemplative as they got into thicker territory. Sasuke was so focused on Sakura that he didn't notice the surrounding mist beginning to form.

"Alright Sasuke-Kun, this one is easy, what is your favorite color?" Her eyes locked with his and the answer had made its way out of his mouth before he could think.

"Green." She looked surprised and a little confused, she tilted her head and gave him a look while smiling.

"Green? Really Sasuke-Kun? You never wear green!" He knew that, but it was still his favorite color. The minty color appeared in his head all the time.

"I know," He said and he looked into her eyes. "But that doesn't mean that I don't love it." She turned away just in time to escape his eyes from seeing her red face.

"It's my turn now, so...what-um what is your favorite food?" Wow real original Sasuke.

She giggled and gave a cute smile. "Dango right now, I'm gonna weigh _two tons_ by the time I'm over it." They laughed at the inside joke.

"Please don't, if you end up falling on me again I might die." She laughed and covered her mouth, and he hid his own with his hand, watching her face flush.

"You're so mean Sasuke-Kun! Just for that, I'm going to push you down on purpose!" She lightly shoved him to emphasize her point. Feeling playful he shoved her back, and he pushed a bit too hard. They both laughed as they toppled to the ground, they went sprawling down a hill, limbs intertwined and them laughing louder than anything. He had no idea what was so funny, but there was something about this forest that made his limbs feel lax and his mind feel foggy.

They ended up at the bottom of that hill, her on top of him, and the mist around them made it hard to see anything that wasn't _her_.

She smiled at him and the world seemed to fast and he wasn't here, his mind was elsewhere because something was _wrong._ This didn't feel right, something was wrong and he didn't know _what it was._

He needed to get out of this forest, something was wrong in this forest and he needed to leave.

"Sakura we have to leave this forest." He said, but the words came out slurred and far too relaxed for his liking.

She looked at him curiously, her hair falling down around them as she leaned closer. "What do you mean Sasuke-Kun?" She asked quietly and softly.

He breathed deeply, he watched her mouth with a startling intensity and she leaned closer, he held her by her shoulders and lightly pushed her off of him, regretting it almost instantly. He looked into her eyes and found them to be dazed and he knew that he'd done the right thing, she wasn't in her right of mind right now and she would come to regret her actions later, just as he would.

He looked around them and found that he couldn't remember when they had been in the fog, when had they gone into the fog to begin with? He staggered as he got up, Sakura was still sitting there with that same look on her face, he grabbed her hand and pulled her up. Without giving it much thought he began to run, he tripped and his vision began to blur. Damn! Why was it so hard to see?! Why couldn't he see!? Why couldn't he run?! He found himself looking. Looking for anything that could possibly make this situation better. He found a blur that looked suspiciously like a cave and didn't think twice about running towards it.

His grip on Sakura was slipping and he held tighter. The adrenaline and the fear of losing her pushed him and he couldn't pray for anything other than keeping his hand in hers. He pulled her harder and found himself tumbling into a dark space, dragging the girl behind him down as well.

He breathed in, his face close to the ground. He reveled in the coolness of the surface fro the moment, wondering how the hell a fog had made him laugh like a maniac and completely forget about where they were going. His mind was barely clear from where they were and he wanted to get farther away from the substance, he wanted his mind clear, he needed to get them out of here.

He hefted himself up, and he was disappointed that his arms were shaking, but he discarded the thought, finding that he had a lot more important things to deal with. His knees were bleeding and he let out a small grunt when a sharp rock lodged its way into his leg. Sakura was not far from him, and for once he was quite grateful for her outfit change. Instead of the dress she now wore a simple shirt-red still, with her clan symbol on the back, and a pair of dark shorts, fishnet adorned her legs and she had a black pouch around her hips.

It would be much easier to carry her like that, rather carrying her in her dress. He strained himself as he stood up and quickly made his way over to her, he cradled her face in one hand and had to muffle his growl when he saw the large cut on her cheek. He wiped away the blood with his thumb and took in her pale pallor. HE didn't want to waste any more time, so he held her against him, weaving his fingers into her hair and silently promising her that they'd make it out of this, and slowly and carefully maneuvered her onto his back.

He pushed chakra into his legs and took off into the cave, judging from the way it was built he could only guess that this had something to do with all the inner tunnels that Tea country had. It was a very popular tourist attraction and he could only hope they made it out of here before they froze to death or the pressure killed them.

* * *

He had not expected to come upon this, a damn sort of thing. He had been wandering for what felt like forever and his muscles were beginning to ache from holding this position for so long. He stumbled into a large dome-like area and it was lit up, with light's all around the dome, this place was definitely not an accident. They were holding water here, and it looked unstable as hell.

He got a couple samples of it-just in case, he told himself- but he didn't drink any, he'd rather be dehydrated than die. He spun around and he hadn't noticed that his shorts were caught on one of the pieces of wood. He pulled on it but it wouldn't come off. Finally, he yanked it off, and with it came the piece of wood. Fear made its way into his system and he didn't hesitate to throw Sakura over his shoulder. He hightailed it out of there, but he knew that when he heard the distinct sound of rushing water, he wouldn't get far.

He ran like he had never before. His legs kicked at anything for a boost. He had never had this sort of urge to just run, to escape, to be alive within the next minutes. It was like being chased by his worst nightmare, the fear of losing that of which he loved, and he couldn't seem to run fast enough. The water overtook him and he fell forward. His biggest fear was losing Sakura, and he felt a surge of an emotion that he had never, he wanted to find her, he wanted to see her, breathing and alive, not dead and pale.

His head broke the surface and he immediately tried looking around, only for him to be swept under again. His head hurt, he had no air, and he couldn't find her. HE couldn't see her, she couldn't swim, she wasn't conscious. She was going to die, she was going to die and it was going to be all his fault. He held his breath until it began to hurt and he tried with all his might to get above, to get air. But he couldn't. He felt the darkness creep in as he let out his breath. Fear pulsed within him and he felt everything slipping. Flashes behind his closed eyes as he opened them once more.

Pink hair floated into his vision just as they were spat out of the cave.

One thing was for sure he knew, he would never be taking Sakura to Tea country again.

He coughed as he sat up and he looked around him. Water was everywhere and small pieces of trees littered the ground. He needed to find...

His eyes stopped, his whole body stopped, and so did his heart.

She wasn't moving, and she was just laying there, unmoving. Why was everything so gray? Why wasn't he moving? Was she getting closer? Oh, guess he was moving.

"Sakura!" Screaming her name wouldn't do him much good, would it? "Sakura! Wake up!" Screaming demands wasn't doing him much good either. He shook her and faced her towards him. "Sakura please don't do this!" He placed his head on her chest and grabbed one of her hands, he weaved his fingers through her own and shook her hand. He weaved her fingers through his hair, and wished and prayed for her to come back, for her to smile at him, for her to close her eyes and say something just simply Sakura. Something like _"I'll never leave you Sasuke-Kun..."_

He wouldn't let the cruelty of this world take her from him. He placed his hands on her chest and began to pump, five over and he placed his mouth on her own. He breathed his life into her and prayed with whatever god there was to bring her back to him. Again he pumped against her chest, begging to anyone to have mercy on him, and to not take her from him.

"Please, please, please..." He whispered when she had yet to breathe still. His breath left him as he buried his face into her stomach. His hand blindly reached for her own, and he felt a grab to his own hand as a choking sound from above him hit his ears. He snapped up and picked her up, holding her next to him. He stroked her head, and he could never begin to explain the relief that rushed through him as her chest began to move again.

His eyes sagged with the utter exhaustion that this whole day had been. He would never play 20 Questions after today, never again. He collapsed next to her, careful not to harm her. His eyes softened as he took in her, pretending to not see her injuries. He held her head under his chin and felt darkness take him in.

"I'm here Sakura, I've got you."

A figure stood in the nearby treeline, a scowl of irritation on his face, his plan had failed. The girl was still alive, and his plan would fall to shambles if he didn't get rid or her.

"Next time you won't be so lucky."

And he was gone.


	10. Chapter 10: Admit

He knew it wasn't normal, wanting to walk so far away from the water. But every time he got closer he got that glimpse of her head sinking under the water, and her lying pale on her back, it made him want to throw up.

This forest seemed to be unaffected on the lower parts of elevation, the fog seemed to be gone-which didn't make any sense, because fog was supposed to be in low areas, but Sasuke had decided that this forest was the farthest from normal that one could find, so he didn't dwell on it for long.

He'd woken up earlier than Sakura had, and he'd just sat there, her head in his lap as he watched her sleep, he was almost afraid of falling back asleep because then when he woke up she might not be breathing when he did.

But those thoughts had been put to rest when she had opened her eyes, and looked straight at him.

He'd smiled at her curious face until her eyes began to water and she lunged forward and sent them to the ground, with her on top. She cried for what felt like forever to Sasuke-it killed him to watch her cry- and he just held her, enjoying the feeling of her warming skin.

Now they were walking side by side, and it was awkward. He hadn't the slightest idea why, but he had a firm idea. Sakura was probably embarrassed about her actions before they escaped the fog, and honestly, he couldn't blame her.

He shoved his hands in his pockets, they were both still wet from head to toe, and the cold wasn't doing anything to protect them. He hadn't realized how dark it had become until Sakura poked his side, his attention snapped to her immediately, and he watched as she slowly looked away from his eyes.

"Sasuke, it's dark, I think we should make camp for the night, until we meet up with Kakashi-Sensei." Her voice was exhausted and cold and if he was being honest with himself, her cold demeanor was beginning to piss him off.

How could she just one minute, act like they were more than friends, laughing and smiling, to acting like he was the worlds biggest stranger and shying away from him?

"Hn." Was all he said, his emotions getting the better of his actions, perhaps he shouldn't act so cold, but a selfish part of him told him that if he acted like this then everything would be easier on him in the end.

He wasn't stupid, or ignorant, he knew that something had been developing between him and Sakura, and he had been doing nothing to stop it-he was helpless in this area.

He loved the way her eyes would light up when she said his name, and the way she would smile at him oh so softly, often hindered his sleep at night.

He was a fool to believe he could let these things happen only to be let off on the easy end when it came down to it. He had done many things that he wasn't proud of, but that didn't mean that he regretted them.

He looked over his shoulder at a shivering and downcast Sakura.

How could he come to regret them when she made those moments so wonderful?

He stopped suddenly and had Sakura crashing into his back-he would not be the one to do it, he would not be the one who shut down everything.

He could make her hate him.

He could make her cry.

But he would not be the one who gave up his only chance at happiness.

Coming to terms with things made him anxious and slightly nervous. He wanted to be with Sakura all the time, it was a fact that he could not hide. They were both guilty when it came to being in each other's lives' purposefully. She had made attempts to be in his home when it was not needed, and he'd allowed her to do so.

She let him meet her father, and the man had told him to take care of his daughter, something that shouldn't be trusted to anyone unless it was absolutely necessary.

He had every intention of making her the happiest girl in the world.

He just had no idea how he was going to do it yet.

"Sakura," he hunched down, and put his arms out slightly behind him. "Get on, I'm sure that there is a place we can make camp up ahead," he had seen that she was exhausted, and cold, and neither of them brought a jacket, so this was going to be the only way.

He pushed down his heart as it leaped into his throat, her touch had him jumping and he told himself to not be stupid. She hesitated before putting her full weight on him, and she slipped her legs around his waist and he found her thighs to hold onto.

He breathed out heavily as he stood and he walked with a strength in his step that wasn't there before, he wanted to be strong for her, and most certainly didn't want to look like a fool.

He walked for about an entire minute of silence before the overwhelming need to say something took over. He needed to break this tension, and the fact that he felt so in need to do that made him slightly agitated

He asked her how she was feeling, just to ease his conscience. "Sakura," he glanced over his shoulder at her. "Are you feeling better?" She leaned into his neck and he hoped that it didn't feel as heated for her as it did for him. Swallowing he waited for her answer, and he took a moment to feel her shift against him, he would never be able to tell her how undeniably happy he was that she had woken up.

"Hmm, yeah," she mumbled and pressed her nose further into his neck and he held a shudder in. "We can stop here Sasuke-kun, it's okay..." her small words had him halting and staying right there, he bent down and allowed her a moment to compose herself as she slipped off his back. His fingertips brushed along her thighs as she did so, and gave a tiny smile. He was the only one who could touch her like that, and he knew that she would never allow anyone but _him_ to do so. He didn't even want to think about other people touching her.

He turned around and wiped the smile from his face. "Stay here, I'll be back." He said quickly and she sputtered as a worried look came over her face, he didn't want her to look that way, he was just going to get firewood.

"Don't worry," he grabbed her hand in his bigger one, grazing his thumbs over her lightly calloused knuckles, she flushed bright red as he gave her just the smallest of smiles. "I'll be right back."

She watched him jump into the forest and she had never felt more alone, surrounded by the trees and the shadows that they held.

_Goddamnit, I swear it is never usually this hard to find firewood!_

He'd only managed to get an arm full at this time, but he supposed it was enough to pass them for a couple more hours, assuming he actually got it started. Which he would, if Sakura didn't get blood flowing soon, she could be worse off than he originally thought, that's why he needed to hurry, and he was really wishing he'd found a cave instead, but apparently that kind of luck didn't exist for him.

Holding tightly to the stack of wood in his arms he flew across the dew-covered ground, wanting to get back as soon as possible, and it wasn't that he was worried about Sakura being in trouble or anything-he completely trusted her skills- he was worried about the condition she was in. He had the idea to use chakra as he was walking and that kept his body warm, but Sakura, who had not been moving at all, had been too exhausted, and he knew that if she didn't get warm soon, her life would be in his hands.

That was the kind of pressure that could drive someone insane.

As he stepped into the clearing he was unbelievably relieved to see Sakura sitting against a tree, head in her knees. He set the firewood down and quickly arranged it before going and grabbing some relatively dry leaves. Nothing here was dry and he reminded himself that his luck was absolute shit.

Quietly he whispered words that heated his breath upon contact. "Katon: Fire Ball Jutsu!" The flames burst from his mouth and ignited the pile of wood in a heated grip, he was quick to walk over to Sakura. He didn't even shake her to get her attention, because surely she knew he was here. He slipped one arm underneath her lax legs and one behind her back, hefting her up and walking slowly toward the fire.

"Sasuke-Kun?" She said quietly, and he 'Hmmm'ed in response, he didn't want to talk right now, he just wanted to hold her, and he hoped that would be enough. She shifted and he slowly set her down on the ground, but she grabbed the front of his shirt, pulling him closer. Her eyes were filled with tears, and her face was red and splotchy.

"Why Sasuke-Kun? Why?" She said and he watched as her lip began to tremble, and tears threatened to spill from her eyes. He stopped, had he done something wrong? Had he insulted her without knowing it? He didn't know what to think as Sakura drew her hands away and began to wipe at her eyes.

"Why what Sakura? I don't understand, are you okay?" He reached his hand for her shoulder, but he was roughly smacked away, and she backed away from him, almost sobbing now.

"W-why do you t-treat me like I'm some useless d-doll?!" She said it so loud, he narrowed his eyes, Sakura wouldn't act like this normally, and he looked again at her face, trying in desperation to figure out why she was acting this way.

"Sakura, do you feel okay?" He reached forward again, crawling just a little bit forward to her. She sobbed again and he winced at the noise, knowing that he was the cause of the sound didn't make him feel any better either.

"You're not listening to me!" She screamed and he understood what was happening to her. She had been wet earlier, her clothes soaked through, and her body had been weak, and so it only made sense that she had scummed to illness.

She was sick, without a doubt.

"Sakura," He said calmly, and he was eternally grateful that she decided to stay quiet on that one. " I am listening, and all of that is a lie." She looked like she wanted to scream again so he quickly slapped a hand over her mouth. "You hold our team together," It was true, and if Sakura wasn't there, he was sure that he wouldn't even have a team. "You and I," He looked deep into her eyes, hoping that when her fever died down, she wouldn't remember the words he was about to say. "we are always going to be there for each other," Her eyes, even right now, they looked so beautiful to him, and he wished that someday he could tell her that. "because I care about you Sakura." She stopped struggling against his hand and just stared, eyes glazed over with the haze that came from being sick.

"Can I count on you to always be there," He breathed slowly as his heart raced. "for me?" He said quietly and his hand fell away, she was quick to move forward, shoving herself onto him, and for once, he was relaxed as he held her there. She snuggled into him and he held her, rubbing her eyes as they lay next to the fire. She rested her head onto his heart and he felt so tired all of a sudden. Sakura made herself comfortable in his side and she looked up at him with glazed eyes, and he looked back at her, adoration shining in his own.

"I will always be there for you Sasuke-Kun..." He felt the heavy thump of her head against his chest and he smiled at her, albeit tiny, but still there. His eyes closed and somewhere in his head he knew he shouldn't fall asleep, because they could be attacked or killed. But as his head lolled to the side, he found an orange jumpsuit running toward him and he just couldn't bring himself to care anymore, his body was too tired.

Oblivion had never felt so good, especially now that there was a green-eyed girl, smiling at him and holding him like he was the world, instead of blood, screams, and bodies.


	11. Chapter 11: Sasuke-Kun

The world was so blurry.

So very blurry.

Flames raced across rooftops. Screams traveled through broken streets. The smell of burning flesh and blood reeked in his nose. If he had to say something honestly, it would be that his heart had never raced quiet this fast before.

He stumbled through debris, his throat raw, lungs burning and eyes too wet for this atmosphere. He was afraid. So fucking afraid. They were gone, again. His family, the people he'd let in, they were taken from him.

Again.

He screamed as he ran through the burning streets of his home, feet bloody, and heart shattering as he came upon a familiar orange jumpsuit, tattered and unmoving.

"Naruto!" Why couldn't he hear himself? Why did no sound come from his mouth? Was it because everything else was so loud, that he just couldn't hear anymore? Or was it because no matter how much he screamed it would make no difference?

He grabbed at the boy, panic rising as he found his chest unmoving. Eyes closed and blood dribbling from the corner of his mouth, bile rose In Sasuke's throat as he took in the sight.

This was a lie. All of this. _Not again,_ he pleaded, _not again._

His eyes, wide and frantic took in the many bodies that lay unmoving around him. Searching, that little flicker of hope rising in what was left of his heart.

His fading vision landed upon the form of his last teammate. Bruised, bloodied, broken. Wide eyes, _dead_ eyes. Broken bones and white skin. Upon her lips rested those words, the ones at one time he had hoped to hear.

Now he just wished to never hear them again.

"Sasuke-Kun..."

A scream resonated throughout his form that seemed to carry through the streets he once walked, a lesser man.

He shot up, a scream at his lips. sweat pouring from his being, gasping harshly he threw himself away from his bed. He breathed heavily as he wiped down his face, his skin crawled with the remembrance of her eyes.

Frantically his eyes looked about his apartment, Mikoto still slept soundly on his couch, the rest of it, more particularly his bed, looked terribly empty to him.

The moon still shone through the window, bright and unrelenting. He needed to go, now. He had to see with his own eyes, that she was okay, that she was alive. This panic that welled within him every time he had even the slightest paranoia was beginning to eat at him.

He threw on a shirt and silently slipped in his ninja sandals, grabbing his pouch in a hurry and strapping it to his thigh. He left not bothering to go through the streets, instead taking the high ground.

She lived in the civilian district, and he remembered vaguely that her house was a tan color, small, yet comfortable. The little details that he had managed to hold onto didn't help him all that much, because most of these houses looked the same.

She should be living in the ninja district, with him, that way if she needed to be found, it would be efficient and quick.

Or at least that's the excuse he managed to conjure up in his head.

He hit the streets looking for her last name, his head swiveling from left to right so quickly it almost hurt. He came to a halt when he saw the finials kanji.

**'Haruno'**

He didn't even bother to be quiet as he took the steps two at a time, he knocked furiously at her door, slamming his hands into the metal with such force it hurt.

_Please, please, please..._

His panic had hit its peak causing his body to shake, his mind rushing with possibilities. His chest hurt, his head hurt. His heart was aching with the need to look into sparkling emerald eyes.

The sound of a deadbolt being undone had his neck cracking as he looked up. He pulled a kunai from his pouch, anxiety telling him to do so. Eyes narrowed and hands shaking, he saw, with blissful eyes, that gorgeous pink hair slip around the edge of the door.

Metal glistened in front of green eyes, a weapon to protect herself. She quickly lowered it as she noticed who it was at her door. He didn't want her to speak, or to ask him questions. He wanted this, he wanted her to be _alive_ and not in danger.

He lunged forward, shaking hands sneaking around her waist and into her hair, holding her against him as he leaned against the pale wall behind them. The metal stairs and the surrounding walls made for a darker tone, but he didn't mind.

He didn't want to seem forceful, or do anything that might alarm her further, so he just held her. He didn't move, he just leaned against the wall heavily, his heart thudding in his chest.

She was safe, and to him that was all that mattered. In his head he reprimanded himself again, how could he have just dropped everything to just see if she was okay.

Just a based on a feeling.

A fucking dream.

He wanted to scream and cry at his foolishness, so stupid, so very stupid.

"Sasuke-Kun?" She called, her face in his neck, quiet, curious. He tried not to think about the girl in his dream, the one who had said those exact words, in that exact voice. That wasn't Sakura, that was a nightmare, that wasn't real.

He leaned his head against the concrete behind him, looking at her, to see. The moon filtered in, lighting her hair in an ethereal glow, her skin practically glittering under it all. Her eyes though.

From the very beginning it had been her eyes that had drawn him in. From their color to their attitude, every little thing had always been something that drew him in.

The way they would sparkle when she laughed.

When they would dim as she became sad.

How they would become flustered when he was near.

All of it had embedded into his head, thorough and clear. His love for her had been something he had not wanted to acknowledge, _for her sake_, he told himself, what garbage that had been. All this time he had been denying himself something that he had so desperately wanted, to keep her safe.

Fuck that...

With a flame in his heart he surged forward, pressing his forehead against her own, eyes meeting in a clash of colors. He massaged her neck gently as he pressed forward, watching her eyes close, and finally found his lips upon her own.

Soft, sweet, sickeningly so, intoxicating a taste he had already come to love as he pressed her closer. Gently cupping her face, tilting and pressing impossibly closer. He never wanted this moment to end. A shock ran down his spine at this feeling and he wanted to keep her right here.

She pressed into him, her hands fisting his shirt, not knowing what else to do. She stood rigid in his arms, but he knew she was enjoying this just as much as he was. Her skin was heated under his hands as they settled on her hips, not moving anymore.

The need to breathe had become an apparent annoyance to him and slowly, gingerly, he pulled back, wishing he hadn't almost immediately.

He missed her taste, and even as he held her he knew not to lean in again. She was shaking, her hands still fisted in his shirt, and he leaned over her, cradling her in his arms.

He didn't know what he was supposed to say, he wanted to say his true feelings. To allow those three simple, yet complicated words to fall from his lips.

He knew that he shouldn't but his mind was spinning, he didn't even comprehend how hard it would be to say those words.

With a pounding head and trembling lips he whispered into her ear, voice cracking and throat constricting.

"Sakura," his mouth ran dry, so he wetted it, trying to calm his body. "Sakura I-" cold lips met his own and silenced him, he closed his eyes, only pressing forward slightly, to show her that he was still responding.

"It's okay." She sunk down, her head resting on his shoulder, nose brushing against the side of his neck. "You don't have to say it Sasuke-Kun," his heart hurt, he truly couldn't say them to her, no matter how much he felt that way. "I know..."

They stood there for a while, soaking in the moonlight. Content in each other's arms, until Sakura grabbed his hand and they slowly made their way inside, fingers intertwined.

When he watched her sleep that night, he felt so lucky, so utterly lucky to be here right now. He had been given something he didn't deserve, and he would cherish it until death brought him to his knees.

With his arms around her that night, he fell into a deep slumber. Dreams of an unpromised reality plaguing him.

He only he'd her hand tighter that night.

_**I'm so sorry it's so short! Fuck! I really am sorry! But yay! They finally kissed! After ten painstakingly long ass fucking chapters! THEY KISSED! YAYAYAYSYAYAYYAYAYAY! **_

_***ahem* on a different note, thank you all so much for your continued support on this story! All the attention it's been getting makes me happy as hell! Thank you for reading this chapter! (THIS BOOK IS NOT OVER)**_


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